Supreme Court Seeks Records on Form 6 Declaration

The Supreme Court said it had not approved a modified version of Form 6, the application used to register new voters, and said it would examine official records to establish how a disputed declaration linked to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls was introduced. The court issued notices to the respondents but declined to suspend Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar or grant other immediate interim relief while it awaits their responses. Chief Justice Surya Kant made the remarks as a bench also comprising Justices Joymala Bagchi and V. Mohana heard petitions challenging the Election Commission’s handling of the voter-roll revision and alleging that Kumar had taken decisions without the required participation of fellow commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The court said it would consider the matter after receiving the responses and examining the record. The dispute centers on an additional declaration associated with Form 6 during the revision process. According to reports cited in the petitions, applicants were asked to link themselves, their parents or grandparents to earlier electoral rolls.