The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced a new requirement on its ECINET online voter registration portal, asking applicants to provide details about their parents’ status in the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The move has raised questions because the statutory voter registration form, Form 6, has not yet been officially amended under existing election laws.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new voter registration process and its impact on first-time voters.
What Is the Election Commission’s New Online Registration Requirement?
The ECI’s ECINET portal, which allows citizens to register as voters, update electoral details, and request deletion of names from voter lists, has introduced an additional declaration in the online version of Form 6.
Under the new section, applicants must state whether either of their parents was included in the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
If the answer is Yes, applicants must provide:
- Assembly constituency number
- Polling booth (Part Number)
- Electoral roll serial number of the parent in the last SIR
If the parents were not included in the last SIR, applicants must provide their parents’ names and, if available, their Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers.
What Is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)?
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a large-scale exercise conducted by the Election Commission to update electoral rolls.
Since June last year, the Commission has completed the SIR in 10 states and three Union Territories, while the process is currently underway in 19 other states and UTs.
For states where the SIR has not been conducted recently, the reference remains the intensive revision carried out in the early 2000s.
The Election Commission has not yet announced SIR exercises for:
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Ladakh
Meanwhile, Assam has been excluded until the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process is completed.
Does the Law Allow This New Requirement?
The legal position remains unclear.
Under Article 326 of the Constitution, every adult Indian citizen who ordinarily resides in an Assembly constituency has the right to register as a voter unless disqualified by law.
The voter registration process is governed by:
- Representation of the People Act, 1950
- Registration of Electors Rules, 1960
Form 6 is a statutory form prescribed under these rules.
Any modification to Form 6 generally requires:
- Amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules
- Notification by the Ministry of Law and Justice
- Publication in the Official Gazette
- Placement before Parliament
Has Form 6 Been Officially Amended?
As of now, no official amendment has been notified.
Government notifications available on the e-Gazette website since the Election Commission announced the SIR do not show any amendment to Form 6.
Interestingly, the downloadable PDF version of Form 6 available on the ECINET portal does not contain the new declaration section. The additional requirement appears only in the online application process.
The Election Commission has not officially explained when the change was introduced or whether it has legal backing.
What Does This Mean for First-Time Voters?
The new rule primarily affects:
- Citizens turning 18 years of age
- First-time voter registration applicants
Applicants are now expected to trace either their own or their parents’ electoral details from the last Special Intensive Revision.
Since the Election Commission has not clarified how this information will be used, it remains uncertain:
- Whether applications lacking these details will face additional scrutiny.
- Whether processing times could increase.
- Whether applicants whose parents were removed during SIR exercises may face complications.
Why Is the New Requirement Significant?
The change comes while the Election Commission is conducting one of the largest revisions of electoral rolls in recent years.
Unlike previous intensive revisions, the current SIR requires many electors to submit documents proving eligibility, including citizenship-related records.
According to Election Commission data, the SIR has so far:
- Been completed in 13 states and Union Territories
- Led to the deletion of 5.58 crore voter names
- Removed entries due to death, migration, duplicate registrations, or inability to verify eligibility
In West Bengal, around 27 lakh voters who had submitted documents were reportedly removed following a judicial adjudication process. Appeals against many of these deletions remain pending.
It remains unclear how the new online declaration may affect children of individuals whose names were deleted during the SIR process.
Final Takeaway
The Election Commission’s new online voter registration requirement introduces an additional layer of verification by asking applicants to provide their parents’ electoral details from the last Special Intensive Revision.
However, since Form 6 has not yet been officially amended under the Representation of the People Act and the Registration of Electors Rules, legal and procedural questions remain unanswered. Until the Election Commission issues a formal clarification, first-time voters should be prepared to gather parental electoral information while applying through the ECINET portal.