On Monday (12th October), the Supreme Court made it clear that it has not disapproved Form 6 that was used post Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Advocate Narendra Mishra, representing a new PIL targeting CEC Gyanesh Kumar, tried to quote the CJI’s last week’s observations out of context. “On 5 October, it was already declared by this court, Form 6 is not approved by the Court. But the ECI said it was approved by the Supreme Court. With regard to this, I am seeking…” he claimed.
While speaking about the matter, Justice Joymala Bagchi stated, “There is no adjudication on the new Form 6. What the Hon’ble Chief Justice said was that when the Bihar SIR judgment was delivered, new Form 6 was not there. That does not say it is either approved or disapproved by the Supreme Court.”
#BREAKING #SupremeCourt says it did not adjudicate on new Form 6 in #BiharSIR case; Justice Bagchi says CJI did not say whether new Form 6 was approved or not Fresh PIL filed before SC on Form 6 controversy, impleading CEC Gyanesh Kumar Adv: On 5 October, already declared by this court, Form 6 is not approved by Court. But ECI said it was approved by Supreme Court. With regard to this, I am seeking J Bagchi: There is no adjudication on the new Form 6. What the Hon’ble Chief Justice said was that when the Bihar SIR judgment was delivered, new Form 6 was not there. That does not say it is either approved or disapproved by the Supreme Court CJI: Please don’t pick words for news item.
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) October 12, 2026
CJI Surya Kant responded, “Please don’t pick words for news item.” Justice Joymala Bagchi had pointed out that Form 6 is yet to be adjudicated. The matter was adjourned till 27th October.
It must be mentioned that the Election Commission of India has maintained a consistent position that Form 6 has not been altered or replaced. It pointed out that a new declaration mapping the parents of a prospective voter in the previous SIR was introduced as a separate eligibility verification requirement, and it wasn’t a modification of Form 6.
ECI had also pointed out that the decision to introduce this new declaration was taken unanimously by the Chief Election Commissioner and both Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. It has maintained that prescribing additional information for eligibility verification falls within its residual powers.
This interpretation was supported by the Supreme Court’s order dated 27 May 2026 in the Bihar SIR. The apex court had recognised the Commission’s authority to prescribe documentation for verifying voter eligibility.
