Maharashtra asks EC to change voter Form 6 for people deleted in SIR

Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer has asked the Election Commission of India to change Form 6, the form used to register as a voter, so that people whose names were removed during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls can get back on the list without risk, according to reports on October 18, 2026. The Commission has told voters left out of the rolls during the SIR to use Form 6 to seek re-inclusion. But the form is designed for first-time voters and asks applicants to declare that they are applying for the first time. Previously registered voters fear that signing such a declaration could count as a false statement under election law. The state has proposed changes to fix that. The Commission has not yet said whether it will accept them.

The SIR is a nationwide clean-up of voter lists in which booth-level officers verify every elector. In state after state, the draft rolls published after the exercise have left out large numbers of names, because voters could not be traced, had moved, had died, or did not return their forms in time. Many of those left out are genuine voters who now need a simple way back on to the list.

That is where the Form 6 problem bites. A person who has voted for years, and whose name was dropped during the revision, is being asked to use a form that describes them as a new voter and to sign a declaration saying so. The fear of being accused of a false statement, an offence that carries a possible jail term, could stop some people from applying at all. For a process meant to make rolls more accurate, that would be the wrong outcome.

The changes Maharashtra has proposed are practical. Removing the "new voters" label and adding a separate declaration for re-inclusion would let people tell the truth about their history. Allowing them to give their old EPIC number would help officials trace their previous entry quickly, reducing the chance of duplicate registrations and speeding up checks.

Short-term: Until the Commission decides, previously registered voters in Maharashtra who were dropped in the SIR face uncertainty about how to fill in Form 6. Local electoral officers may need to guide applicants case by case.

Long-term: If the Commission accepts the changes, a clearer form could be adopted in every state that has completed the SIR, making it easier for deleted voters across the country to return to the rolls before the next elections.

Who is affected: Voters in Maharashtra and other SIR states whose names were removed from the draft rolls; booth-level officers and electoral registration officers handling claims; and political parties that track the size and accuracy of voter lists.

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