NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today said it will look into the matter concerning Form 6 issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and which is needed for registering as a new voter. What was clear was that the “modified” Form 6 has not been approved by the Supreme Court, it said.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made these observations while hearing a petition that asked to check whether Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar single-handedly exercised powers constitutionally designated for the entire multi-member poll body which also includes two election commissioners (ECs).
The Supreme Court has not yet made a decision on the matter of Form 6 and would see the issue in-depth only after going through the records whenever they are presented to the court, Chief Justice Kant said, adding he wants to see who amended Form 6.
“The modified Form 6 has not been approved by us. This is clear,” the Chief Justice said.
The ECI has said that Form 6 itself has not been amended; it maintained that it only added an extra declaration to be used by new voters for the voter roll cleanup exercise Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Umakant Lakhera is a Senior Journalist and Political Commentator
