Election Commission clarifies SIR orders and ECINET access amid Rahul Gandhi's allegations
Quick Look
Election Commission officials confirmed that Special Intensive Revision orders for electoral roll updates in Bihar and multiple states/UTs were unanimously approved and included mandatory citizenship declaration forms, denying claims that ECINET locks out field officers while responding to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of vote theft and procedural irregularities.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Election Commission issued Special Intensive Revision (SIR) orders for electoral roll updates in phases across Bihar and multiple states/UTs, which included mandatory citizenship declaration forms in Forms 6 and 8. These orders were unanimously approved by the three election commissioners.
NEW DELHI: Election Commission officials Thursday said special intensive revision (SIR) orders related to Phase 1 in Bihar, Phase 2 in a dozen states/UTs and ongoing Phase 3 in 19 states/UTs had all listed Forms 6 and 8 with a mandatory declaration form on citizenship details of the elector or parents, and were unanimously approved by CEC and the two election commissioners. While Form 6 is an application for registration as a new elector, Form 8 is for shifting of an elector from outside the state/UT where he seeks to be enrolled. EC sources also denied ECINET was locking out field officers like electoral registration officers (EROs), assistant EROs, BLOs, DEOs, and chief electoral officers, saying ECINET is a decentralised platform designed in accordance with the RP Act 1950, RP Act 1951 and the instructions issued by EC from time to time. Citing the exact pages and paras of the orders, EC's clarification - which was reported exclusively in TOI Thursday - came amid a direct attack by Rahul Gandhi on CEC Gyanesh Kumar Thursday over alleged 'vote chori' and SIR anomalies, while praising the commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi for allegedly pointing out pitfalls in procedures adopted by EC for SIR of electoral rolls.
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It makes it clear that the SIR orders issued for Phase 1 in Bihar on June 24, 2025, for Phase 2 in a dozen states/UTs issued on Oct 27, 2025, and for Phase 3 in 19 states/UTs issued on May 14, 2026, were all unanimously approved by the three commissioners and that their objection to Form 6 and the declaration being unlawful and beyond the EC's remit was an afterthought. While Joshi had objected to Form 6 on May 16, two days after the third SIR order was signed by him, Sandhu did so on Aug 13, months after Supreme Court, in its verdict issued on SIR on May 27, 2026, upheld EC's power to add the declaration form. EC officials said the declaration form was introduced for the ease of voters so that whoever gives the declaration form need not submit any other documents. "This has been uniformly applied in SIR across all states/UTs," an EC official told TOI. On ECINET, the official said, "As per law, BLOs, AEROs, EROs, DEOs and CEOs can perform their statutory functions on this platform with their unique ID and password. Nobody else can perform their statutory function on it."
End of Article
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The Supreme Court may hear further petitions challenging the constitutionality of mandatory citizenship declarations in electoral rolls.
Possible · Within months
Election Commission officials will continue to defend the SIR orders and ECINET access policies in response to political criticism.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What specific changes were made to the SIR procedures after the Supreme Court's May 27, 2026 verdict?
- How will the EC address concerns about potential exclusion of eligible voters due to the citizenship declaration requirement?
- Are there any planned legal challenges to the SIR orders beyond those already mentioned?
