The Election Commission of India (ECI) has modified the declaration accompanying Form 6—the statutory form used for fresh voter registrations—since the introduction of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar, according to commission officials.
The separate declaration form was first introduced during the initial phase of the SIR in Bihar last year and underwent further alterations in later phases. ECI officials stated that the introduction of a separate declaration form alongside Form 6 and Form 8—which is used to update existing voter particulars—was approved by the full three-member commission when the Bihar SIR began last year and was subsequently ratified in the second and third phases.
The declaration form was designed to confirm the specific birth timeframe of prospective voters to determine the documentary proof required under Indian citizenship laws:
– Applicants born before July 1, 1987, were required to submit only their own document to prove their date and place of birth.
– Applicants born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, were required to provide their own document alongside a document from either their father or mother.
– Applicants born after December 2, 2004, had to submit their own document along with documents for both parents establishing date and place of birth.
– If either parent was not an Indian citizen, applicants were required to submit a copy of that parent’s passport and visa that was valid at the time of the applicant’s birth.
In the second phase of the SIR, new voters filling out Form 6 were required to declare whether their names or their parents’ names appeared in the previous SIR. On the ECINet online portal, applicants who lacked this information were provided a third selection option. Although the field was not formally designated as “mandatory,” applicants in practice could not complete or submit the online form without selecting an option. This field requirement was retained into the third phase, which was announced in May 2026.
The additions and procedural requirements drew internal scrutiny within the electoral body. Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu flagged the issue in separate formal notes and letters written in May 2026 and August 2026, respectively.
Form 6 is attached to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which were enacted under the Representation of the People Act, 1950. Because the form is embedded within an official statutory rule, legal authority to amend Form 6 rests exclusively with the Union government through the Ministry of Law and Justice, rather than through unilateral redesign by the ECI.
Sources
– [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/declaration-part-of-form-6-changed-since-sir-in-bihar/article71509555.ece)
Source: The Hindu – National
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Story synopsis gathered from: The Hindu – National — source
