Report: online Form 6 on ECINET adds 'last SIR' question without rule change
By 11 July 2026 the online Form 6 on ECINET, the statutory form for new voters, carried an inserted 'declaration form' section asking whether the applicant's own name or a parent's or grandparent's name was in the last SIR roll, with booth and serial numbers. It was not marked mandatory but the form could not be submitted without answering. The downloadable paper Form 6 did not include it, and no amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 had been notified. It applied in all SIR states except Bihar, and not in Assam.
Exact date of rollout on ECINET is not known; first reported on 12 July 2026 from the portal as accessed on 11 July. The Commission did not respond to The Indian Express before publication in July or September; its later response is recorded separately. Law Ministry Legislative Department Secretary Rajiv Mani could not be reached (July report).
The SIR orders the Commission cites prescribe a separate Declaration Form, headed 'To be submitted along with Form 6/Form 8'. The record holds no notified amendment to Form 6 in the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 (per The Indian Express's review of the Gazette, noted on sir-rules-annexure-d-declaration). The before/after text is on the rules page.
See all charges and answers →- TIER 3 · PRESSEC changes Form 6 for new voters without amendment to rules; seeks SIR details of parentsThe Indian Express2026-07-12archived ↗
- TIER 3 · PRESSWhat the Election Commission's new online registration requirement means for votersThe Indian Express2026-07-12archived ↗
- TIER 3 · PRESS'Illegal, unauthorised': Election Commissioners objected to Form 6 changeThe Indian Express2026-09-23
- TIER 3 · PRESS14 times in 10 months, two Election Commissioners objected on record to poll panel steps