No prosecution for filing Form 6 after SIR deletion, Delhi poll body clarifies

The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's office on Wednesday clarified that voters whose names were excluded from the draft electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) could submit Form 6 for inclusion without facing prosecution merely because they had been enrolled previously.

The clarification followed concerns that previously registered voters could face legal action for submitting Form 6, which contains a declaration indicating that the applicant is seeking inclusion in the electoral roll for the first time.

In a statement, the CEO's office said no action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, would be initiated against an elector solely because their name had appeared in an earlier electoral roll and they subsequently submitted Form 6 during or after the revision exercise.

The provision deals with false declarations made in connection with the preparation, revision or correction of electoral rolls.

𝗘𝗖 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲-𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Referring to a November 3 communication from the Election Commission of India (ECI), the CEO's office said previously enrolled voters could apply afresh for inclusion in the electoral roll irrespective of their earlier registration.

However, applicants must not already be enrolled in another parliamentary or Assembly constituency, and their declarations must otherwise comply with the law.

The clarification seeks to address apprehensions among electors whose names were removed during the revision process but who feared that applying again could expose them to prosecution for making a false declaration.

The poll body maintained that previous enrolment alone would not constitute grounds for initiating proceedings under Section 31.

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱

The Delhi CEO's office also referred to an October 14 order of the Delhi High Court in the case of Nilotpal Datta and another versus Election Commission of India.

In that case, the petitioners had expressed concern that submitting Form 6 despite having been registered previously could amount to a false declaration.

The High Court rejected the apprehension and permitted them to submit Form 6, directing that their applications be processed in accordance with the law.

The CEO's office cited the ruling to reinforce its position that previously enrolled voters could seek inclusion without automatically attracting criminal liability.

𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁

The clarification came amid continuing legal scrutiny of the SIR process and the procedure prescribed for voters excluded from the draft electoral roll.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan on Wednesday alleged that the Election Commission was still insisting that previously enrolled voters apply as new electors through Form 6.

The matter had also reached the Supreme Court, which, during proceedings on October 28, observed that the poll panel was in error in requiring voters whose names had been deleted during the SIR to apply as new voters, according to submissions made in the case.

The controversy centres on whether electors who had already been registered should be required to use a form ordinarily associated with first-time enrolment to restore their names to the electoral roll.

𝟰𝟳.𝟱𝟲 𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗵 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹

The draft electoral roll published on August 31 excluded 47.56 lakh electors in Delhi, triggering concerns over the scale of deletions and the process for restoring eligible voters.

Between August 31 and November 3, election authorities received 2,92,399 Form 6 applications seeking inclusion, 26,869 Form 7 applications seeking deletion of names and 1,09,098 Form 8 applications for correction or modification of electoral entries.

The figures reflect the volume of applications submitted during the claims and objections period following publication of the draft roll.

According to the CEO's office, as of November 4, a total of 33.1 lakh notices had been issued to electors over cases involving no-mapping and what the election authorities described as logical discrepancies.

Of these, 32,35,212 electors had been parked for the final electoral roll, the statement said.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟮

The Election Commission last week extended the deadline for filing claims and objections to November 25, giving voters additional time to seek inclusion, deletion or correction of electoral entries.

The publication of the final electoral roll, earlier scheduled for November 4, has been postponed to December 22.

Election authorities have been directed to complete the disposal of claims and objections by December 15.

The latest clarification is expected to provide procedural reassurance to previously enrolled voters seeking restoration of their names, although their applications will remain subject to verification and the eligibility requirements prescribed under electoral law.