Supreme Court to hear Delhi voter Form 6 concerns on November 19

The Supreme Court will examine concerns over requiring omitted Delhi voters to submit Form 6. The case could determine enrolment safeguards and deadline relief for previously registered electors.Image used for representational purposes onlyNewdelhi,Nov 4, 2026 15:24 ISTThe Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would hear on November 19 concerns over an Election Commission clarification allowing voters omitted from Delhi's draft electoral rolls to seek fresh enrolment through Form 6 during the special intensive revision of the rolls, news agency Press Trust of India reported.A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said people need not be apprehensive as the court was hearing the matter. It asked petitioners Anjali Bharadwaj and Amrita Johri to file an appropriate application placing the Election Commission's November 3 clarification on record.The Chief Justice also indicated that the bench could consider asking the Election Commission to extend the deadline if necessary.Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, brought the issue to the court's notice. He said the November 3 clarification appeared to be contrary to the Supreme Court's observations during the October 28 hearing, when it had questioned why previously enrolled voters were being asked to apply afresh through Form 6. Bhushan said voters whose names appeared in the 2026 electoral rolls but were later omitted during the revision exercise should be allowed to seek restoration through Form 8 or the enumeration form, rather than being required to register as new voters.In its November 3 communication to the chief electoral officers of states, the Election Commission clarified that voters whose names did not appear in the draft electoral roll could submit Form 6 to seek inclusion in the final roll, regardless of whether they had been enrolled earlier. The poll panel said submitting Form 6 in such circumstances would not, by itself, amount to a false declaration, even if the applicant had voted in earlier elections. It also clarified that no action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, would be initiated merely because a person had appeared in a previous electoral roll and later submitted Form 6 during or after the revision process.This protection would apply if the voter was not already enrolled in another parliamentary or Assembly constituency and the declaration otherwise complied with the law, the Election Commission said. The poll panel also cited the Delhi High Court's observations in Nilotpal Datta v. Election Commission, stating that voters need not fear prosecution for a false declaration merely because they had previously been enrolled or had voted.On October 28, the Supreme Court said the right to vote was vital and could not be forfeited even if a voter was absent. It asked the Election Commission to devise a mechanism to reach out to 47 lakh of Delhi's 1.45 crore voters whose names had been removed from the draft voter list during the revision exercise.The court questioned the requirement for previously enrolled voters omitted from the draft rolls to file Form 6, which is meant for first-time enrolment. It also advised the Election Commission not to impose a deadline and to accept enumeration forms from deleted voters instead of asking them to submit Forms 6, 7 and 8.According to PTI, the Chief Justice orally observed: “You see how to reduce this gap of 43 lakh. We will take up after two weeks. One suggestion, please publish the list telling that you are the 43 lakh persons who were earlier shown in so and so... that we have not been able to contact you, please see that you are able to contact us.” He added: “Ask them to contact nearest BLO and fill Form 8.”The Election Commission told the bench that it would consider accepting late enumeration forms and extend the October 30 deadline if needed.The petition sought a direction to the Election Commission to publish the list of voters who had been issued notices during the revision of Delhi's electoral rolls, along with the specific reason for each notice. Bhushan had said about 47 lakh voters were omitted from Delhi's draft electoral rolls, which covered around 1.45 crore electors before the revision.The Election Commission published the draft electoral rolls on August 31 after the revision and reported that about 47 lakh names had been omitted from a pre-revision electorate of around 1.45 crore. The Supreme Court will now consider on November 19 the concerns over the use of Form 6 by previously enrolled voters whose names do not appear in the draft rolls.- Ends