The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that it had not approved any modification to Form 6, the statutory application used by citizens to register as voters, while hearing pleas challenging alleged changes made to the form on the Election Commission's ECINet/ERONet portal.
The clarification triggered sharp political reactions, with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Gyansh Kumar Dipke questioning how Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar could have modified the form without the court's approval.
"On whose orders did he do it?" Dipke said on X.
“This makes one thing clear: Gyanu was not acting independently. He was serving his political bosses, even if it meant putting their interests above the rule of law. Gyanu is the biggest traitor of India,” he said.
SC asks who modified Form 6
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, while hearing the matter, made it clear that the court had not approved the altered version of Form 6.
“Any modified Form 6 has not been approved by us. Let’s be clear. When record will be produced, we would like to see who has modified,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said during the hearing.
Form 6 is the statutory application through which a person seeks inclusion of their name in the electoral roll. The controversy centres on an additional declaration introduced in the online version of the form during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
One of the pleas has alleged that requirements relating to ancestral details and links with the previous SIR were added through the Election Commission's software without the statutory amendment required under the electoral rules.
CJP leaders react to SC hearing
CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka also reacted to the development, claiming that the Election Commission had apparently removed a September 26 press release that had stated that the Supreme Court had upheld the Form 6 order.
“Gyanesh has been thrown under the bus,” Ranka wrote on X.
“Gyanesh, it’s done bro!” he added.
Another CJP spokesperson, Saurav Das, claimed that the Supreme Court had "thrown Gyanesh Kumar under the bus" after the hearing.
“Gyanu, you’re done bro,” Das wrote on X.
SC refuses interim suspension of CEC
The Supreme Court also declined to pass an interim order suspending Gyanesh Kumar from functioning as CEC. The bench, headed by CJI Surya Kant, issued notice to the Election Commission, Kumar and the other two Election Commissioners on the plea challenging alleged unilateral decisions.
The court said that if any decision taken by the Election Commission is subsequently found to be contrary to law, it could be annulled.
The proceedings will now depend on the responses and records placed before the court, including those concerning the alleged modification of Form 6 and the manner in which decisions were taken within the poll panel.