Election Commission says SIR orders had unanimous approval, clarifies Form 6 process

PTI, September 26, 2026, New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday asserted that all Special Intensive Revision (SIR) orders were issued after approval from all three Election Commissioners and the changes in Form 6, through which names are included in the voters' list, have been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Amidst the ongoing row over differences between the two Election Commissioners and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the EC said in a statement that the letters sent by the two commissioners -- Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi -- to the Cabinet Secretary were not related to any policy matter of the Commission or its IT division, but to the working of an officer on deputation to the poll panel.

The work re-distribution orders issued by the officer concerned were not actually implemented after the orders of the two Commissioners, and the oversight over the IT division by the Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) was never actually withdrawn, the EC said in the statement, which was issued with the approval of the full Commission.

The Election Commission (EC) said that in recent months, it has taken numerous decisions, including SIR across the country. The order for the SIR issued on June 24, 2025, for all states/UTs, starting with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 other states/UTs, was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission. The same has been upheld by the Supreme Court of India vide its order dated May 27, 2026, it said. The schedule for SIR for 12 states and UTs was issued on October 27, 2025, and those for 19 states/UTs was issued on May 14, 2026, with the unanimous approval of the EC.

The final figure of the number of electors will be known only after final publication in the remaining 12 states of Phase-III. "The declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR has been upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. For the non-SIR period, the Forms applicable as per Rules (the Registration of Electors Rules 1960) will be used," the statement said. For all Election Commission's meeting, agenda will be circulated in advance and minutes will be issued, it said. The EC also said that all directions issued by Commissioners to officers of poll body will be meticulously complied with.

It is the second EC statement after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi raised objections on several occasions over decisions and orders regarding the SIR, prompting the opposition to demand CEC Kumar's sacking and the scrapping of SIR.

The poll body issued its first statement on the matter on the day the newspaper reported the issues within the EC. The poll panel also said that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Goa has directed concerned BLOs to conduct house-to-house visits to the left-out voters to collect their forms.

As many as 81 voters out of 97 have already filled Form 6 for inclusion, it said. The EC also said that people issued notices in SIR need not go for personal hearing except in exceptional cases.