‘Edited’ form 6 line: Why Rahul Gandhi trains his guns on Gyanesh Kumar, what SC said and how EC reacted | Today’s news
The dispute over the functioning of the Election Commission of India and the Special Intensive Review (SIR) escalated on Monday after Highest The court made it clear that it did not approve any modified version of Form 6, which was used to register new voters in the electoral rolls
The Congress party has stepped up its attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, claimed that it had been “proven beyond doubt” that Kumar had “illegally and unilaterally changed Form 6”, and party general secretary KC Venugopal announced a nationwide campaign to continue until the CEC is removed.
Read also | SIR 2026 Voters List: Name Deleted? Know how to add it back — Form 6 explained
Terming the Congress leader’s claim as “misleading”, the probe panel said “the order on SIR in Bihar issued on 24 June 2025 was issued with the unanimous consent of the Commission. This order was upheld by the Supreme Court of India in its judgment dated 27 May 2026”.
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Quick answers to key questions
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Form 6 is a prescribed application for Indian citizens to be included in the electoral roll as a new voter, capturing details such as name, date of birth and address.
The controversy stems from allegations that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar unilaterally changed Form 6 without necessary approvals, raising concerns about compliance with election rules.
The Supreme Court has clarified that it has not approved any modifications to Form 6 and is trying to find out who authorized any changes related to election processes.
The changes included the introduction of an additional statement requiring new voters to provide their parents’ dates and places of birth and linking the application process to the latest SIR.
The Election Commission has withdrawn the additional declaration in states where the SIR is complete and requires applicants to fill only Statutory Form 6 under existing election rules.
The Commission highlighted point 1 point iii) of its press release of 26 September, which states that “the statement attached to Form 6 for SIR was upheld by the Supreme Court”.
INDIA Bloc MPs are preparing to march from Parliament House to the ECI office on Tuesday, October 6, as part of their wider campaign against the CEC.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that the MPs of all opposition parties are peacefully marching from the Parliament House to the Election Commission at 11:00 am, while the MPs are asked to assemble at Makar Dwar at 10:30 am. “Until October 8, all parties of the INDIA alliance will organize district-level pad-yatras. There will be demonstrations, meetings will be held,” he said.
What is Form 6?
Election Commission Form 6 is the prescribed application through which an eligible Indian citizen can be included in the electoral roll as a new voter.
Citizens who have reached or will reach 18 years of age on one of the four qualifying dates of January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1 can fill out the form.
The form asks for details such as the applicant’s name, date of birth, address and other information required for voter registration. It is prescribed under the 1960 Voter Registration Rules.
Applicants can submit Form 6 online or offline.
What has changed in SIR?
The last line refers to the additional declaration introduced along with the online version of Form 6 on the ECINET portal during the SIR exercise.
When announcing Bihar SIR in 2025the panel added a new statement to Form 6 asking new voters for the dates and places of birth of their parents and to provide proof. Subsequently, the Form 6 declaration was further revised to introduce mapping to the last SIR instead of looking for proof of citizenship.
Read also | SIR series: SC refuses to suspend CEC Gyanesh Kumar, issues notice to EC, Centre
On 27 May 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the Bihar SIR.
According to a recent report in The Indian Express, on 16 May 2026 and 13 August 2026, two Election Commissioners raised objections to the addition of Form 6, saying that any changes in Form 6 can only be made by the government and not by the ECI.
After the Indian Express reported these objections from the two ECs, the poll panel said in a press release dated September 26 that the declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR has been upheld High Court. The statement referred to the Supreme Court’s May 2026 judgment on Bihar SIR.
However, it is clear from the statement of the Supreme Court on Monday 5 October that it did not approve any modification of Form 6.
The Election Commission insisted that Form 6 itself was not altered and that the declaration was another document linked specifically to the SIR exercise.
Why is this controversial?
The issue was highlighted by an Indian Express report which said that the Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected to the changes. According to the report, Joshi noted that the statutory form could not be changed without amending the 1960 voter registration rules, and Sandhu agreed.
The petition filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi similarly alleges that the requirements regarding applicant’s origin and link to previous SIRs were introduced through the Election Commission’s software without the statutory adjustment required by the election rules.
The petitioners argued that the question was part of a broader concern as to whether Electoral Commissionas a multi-member body, it decided collectively.
What did the Supreme Court say on Monday?
The Supreme Court said during Monday’s hearing that it has not approved any modification to Form 6, the statutory application used to register a new voter, raising questions about who authorized additional requirements associated with the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Review (SIR) exercise.
“We have not approved any modified Form 6. Let us be clear. When the record is produced, we would like to see who has modified it,” said Chief Justice of India Surya Kant while hearing petitions challenging the decision allegedly taken by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar without the consent of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivk Joshi.
The court took notice of one of the objections and termed it another petition questioning the functioning of the Election Commission.
The arbitration panel comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana did not conclude that the CEC acted unilaterally or that the changes to Form 6 were illegal. The court requested answers and records before determining whether due process had been followed.
What is the status of the additional statement?
The voting panel has so far withdrew the additional statement regarding the SIR from the online voter registration process in states where the SIR was completed.
Read also | Confused by SIR forms? Know what forms 6, 7, 8, 9 and more mean
The statement remains available on ECINET in States and Union Territories where SIR is still ongoing. In states where the exercise has ended, applicants are only required to fill out statutory Form 6 prescribed under the 1960 Voter Registration Rules.
The Survey Panel stated that the additional declaration was intended for SIR and that outside the SIR period the forms prescribed under the 1960 Rules would be used.
