The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that it had never adjudicated the validity of the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) new Form 6 –– the statutory application used by citizens to register as voters, underlining that the modified version was not in existence when the court examined the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar earlier this year.
“Observations made by this court do not amount to constitutional adjudication. The court had issued notice on a petition challenging alleged modifications to the online form available on the ECI’s ECINet/ERONet portal. The Commission has maintained that the statutory form itself was not altered and that the additional declaration was an addendum specifically for the revision exercise. To be sure, ECI was likely referring to the Supreme Court’s May judgment concerning the SIR exercise in Bihar, in which the court examined the Commission’s authority to call for additional documents while revising electoral rolls. The petitions in the top court raise questions about whether an additional declaration could be imposed through an online form without amending the underlying rules.
The clarification assumes significance amid a dispute over the ECI’s claim that the Supreme Court upheld a declaration appended to Form 6 for the SIR exercise. There has been no adjudication on the new Form 6 and that is all we have said,” a bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, told a counsel, appearing for a fresh writ petition, on Monday. Justice Bagchi further clarified that the CJI’s October 5 remarks only meant that the modified form did not exist when the court delivered its judgment on the Bihar SIR. On October 5, the bench said it had not approved any modification to Form 6 and sought records to ascertain who had authorised the changes and what they entailed. In a September 26 press note, ECI said the Supreme Court had upheld the additional declaration, adding that the statutory Form 6 prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would continue to apply outside the SIR period. However, the additional declaration now appended to Form 6 was introduced subsequently. Form 6 is prescribed under the 1960 rules for people seeking inclusion in electoral rolls. Under Section 28 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Centre frames these rules in consultation with the ECI, and changes to the rules must follow the prescribed statutory process.
The court said its earlier observations could not be construed as a judicial endorsement or rejection of any modified form and agreed to examine the issue after it was brought to its notice. “That does not say whether approved or disapproved by the Supreme Court,” he said.
