The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that it had neither approved nor disapproved the changes that were made to Form 6 (application for registration of voter) and said the amended form “was not in existence” when it was dealing with the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar. The clarification came as the apex court was asked to comment on the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) claim that it had upheld the additional declaration made to the Form 6 in the course of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana said the changes to the Form 6 that were brought upon through amendment in the Rules would be examined as the court is “satisfied that the same does not exist at this point”.
The bench said it would hear the petitioners on October 27 along with the other petitions related to the SIR process.
Supreme Court says it never ruled on new Form 6
The bench, on the day of the hearing, made it clear that it had not taken any final position on the modified form and was displeased when the petitioners said that the earlier observations of the bench could be taken as “upholding” the new declaration.
“Do not put words in our mouth,” the bench said, adding that the phrase “does not exist” in its order on October 5 only meant that the amended Form 6 was not in existence when the apex court gave its verdict on the SIR petitions.
Justice Bagchi said the court’s observation only meant that the modified Form 6 “was not in existence at the time the Supreme Court delivered its verdict.
We will examine this issue further after it has been brought to our notice,” the bench said.
What changes were made in Form 6?
Form 6 is the application which a citizen has to fill up while registering as a voter. The dispute around it has to do with an additional declaration that was included in the online application process during the SIR.
As per the additional declaration that was added to Form 6, the applicant will have to declare whether their name or the names of their parents/grandparents figured in an electoral roll prepared during a previous Special Intensive Revision.
The additional declaration has prompted calls to challenge the addition as it did not go through the necessary procedure to amend the rules which govern the format of Form 6. It has also been argued that the addition may disqualify first time voters who have not figured in an electoral roll so far or those whose names were deleted, from casting their vote.
“Election Commission says the declaration was for SIR”
The Election Commission of India, in a press note dated September 26, had said the apex court had upheld the addition of the declaration and said the Form 6, which continues to be in force, “has not been amended”.
It said the additional declaration had been made only for the purposes of Special Intensive Revision and that “the provisions contained in the Form 6 prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 continue to be applicable (outside SIR)”.
“The question of its validity does not arise,” the apex court said after the petitions challenging the additional declaration were filed.
There is a question as to who authorised the additional declaration and whether the correct procedure was followed to make the amendment, for which the apex court asked for documents to examine the issue.
Why is October 27 hearing important?
The upcoming hearing date of October 27 is crucial as the apex court would examine the question of whether the additional declaration could have been made without amending the Rules which prescribe the format for Form 6.
Under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, it is the Election Commission that frames the rules in consultation with the Central government. Any amendment to the Rules would require following the due procedure.
The ECI has said the declaration was only for the purposes of SIR and that Form 6 would continue to be used for the voter registration process outside SIR.
The additional declaration, according to reports, has been deleted from the online application form in the states and UTs where the SIR process has been completed.
The apex court has not yet ruled on the validity of the additional declaration and the October 27 hearing will allow it to examine the petition and the documents related to it.
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