The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday, 24 September 2026, reiterated that voters submitting an additional declaration form alongside Form 6 or Form 8 during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are not required to furnish any other supporting documents. The clarification came amid a public row over the SIR guidelines and the ECI's roll-update procedures.

What the ECI Said

The poll panel stressed that the provision was cleared with the 'unanimous approval' of the Commission and was first introduced in the Bihar SIR order dated 24 June 2025. The order had directed that any new elector application or registration involving a shift from outside Bihar must include Form 6 or Form 8 along with an additional Declaration Form (Annexure D).

A subsequent order on 27 October 2025 extended the same provision to 12 states and Union Territories, again with unanimous Commission approval. The SIR was further expanded to 19 states and Union Territories through an order dated 14 May, with identical provisions and, according to the ECI, the same unanimous backing.

Supreme Court Backing

The ECI underlined that the Supreme Court upheld its authority to mandate the declaration form in the ADR vs. ECI writ petition 640/2025, decided on 27 May 2026. The apex court's order, as quoted by the Commission, stated: 'Any new voter was required to submit Form 6 along with a Declaration Form in Annexure D of the Impugned Order.'

The court further held that the SIR exercise 'neither stands in direct conflict with the RP Act and the 1960 Rules, nor does it detract from the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections,' describing it as an exercise traceable to Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 read with Article 324 of the Constitution.

ECINet Platform Controversy

Separately, ECI sources addressed media reports alleging that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised internal concerns about the 'gradual centralisation' of the electoral roll database and warned that the online platform ECINet was restricting the statutory powers of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).

Sources clarified that ECINet is a 'decentralised platform' designed in accordance with the RP Act 1950, the RP Act 1951, and standing ECI instructions. They emphasised that BLOs, AEROs, EROs, DEOs, and CEOs can each perform their statutory functions on the platform using unique credentials, and that no other officer — including any ECI official — can perform statutory functions on their behalf.

Cybersecurity Context

The ECI also noted the scale of cyber threats facing its digital infrastructure. On the day of the most recent state legislative assembly elections, ECINet reportedly repelled as many as 68 lakh malicious attempts to breach the platform, according to the poll body. The Commission said it manages ECINet's cybersecurity to guard against such threats.

Wider Significance

This comes amid heightened scrutiny of the SIR process, with critics questioning whether the revision exercise could inadvertently disenfranchise voters — particularly migrants and the urban poor — who may struggle to access or complete the required forms. The ECI's repeated emphasis on 'ease of voters' and the no-document-required clause appears designed to counter those concerns directly. With the SIR now active across 19 states and Union Territories, how smoothly the declaration form process is implemented at the ground level will determine whether the Commission's assurances translate into practice.