A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the illegalities arising from requiring voters, whose names were deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, to fill Form 6 to seek re-inclusion in the voter list. The statement on the petition has been issued by Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri.
Form 6 requires every applicant to affirm that they are "applying for inclusion in Electoral Roll for the first time". During the enumeration phase of the SIR in Delhi, 47,56,722 electors, or 32.78 per cent of the voters who existed before the SIR began, were excluded from the Draft Electoral Roll under the category of ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate). For anyone on the ASDD list, Form 6 is the only mechanism to file a claim for restoration of their name.
The petitioners say this creates a fundamental anomaly. All these people were earlier enrolled on the voter list but must now submit Form 6 and declare that they are seeking inclusion for the first time, which is factually incorrect and wholly inapplicable to their circumstances. They also become liable to punishment for a false declaration under Section 31 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1950, which provides for imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine, or both.
The petition further points out that the additional Declaration Form, required to be submitted along with Forms 6 and 8 under the SIR guidelines, has no force of law and should be struck down. Form 6 is prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, framed under Section 28 of the RP Act. Section 28(1) empowers the Central Government, after consulting the Election Commission, to make rules by notification in the Official Gazette, while Section 28(3) requires such rules to be laid before both Houses of Parliament, which may modify or annul them. No such procedure was followed for the additional declaration form. The form was first published in the SIR guidelines and was later modified in the guidelines issued in October 2025 and in May 2026, the latter being applicable to Delhi.
The petition also contends that the Election Commission of India's subsequent clarification, that the additional Declaration Form will not be required during a non-SIR period, creates different mechanisms for the same purpose, which is legally untenable.
Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri are transparency and accountability activists based in Delhi. They are co-founders of Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS), a citizens' group that works to promote transparency in governance and encourage citizens to participate in public affairs. Both are closely associated with the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) and have worked for years on the effective implementation of the Right to Information Act.
The application has been filed in the petitioners' ongoing petition challenging the procedures on logical discrepancy in the Delhi SIR. Advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the new petition before the Supreme Court on October 14, 2026. The bench led by the Chief Justice of India agreed to hear the matter on October 28 and indicated that it would pass an order addressing the concerns raised.
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