New Delhi, October 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Delhi High Court has upheld the Election Commission of India’s existing procedure for voter registration after names are removed from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), declining to direct the poll body to allow Form 8 instead of Form 6 in a case involving electors who had shifted residences.
A bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Aditi Choudhary rejected a plea by Nilotpal Datta and others seeking changes to the procedure for existing voters who could not be enumerated during the SIR because they had moved from their recorded addresses.
The petitioners said they were unable to submit enumeration forms after shifting homes, resulting in the deletion of their names from the electoral roll. They sought permission to transfer their existing electoral entries through Form 8 rather than apply for fresh inclusion through Form 6.
Form 6 is used to apply for inclusion as a new elector, while Form 8 is meant for shifting residence or correcting entries in an existing electoral roll.
During the proceedings, the ECI assured the court that Datta would not be accused of making a false declaration if he submitted Form 6 to seek inclusion in the voters’ list.
ECI standing counsel Sanjay Vashishtha submitted that the petitioners could address their grievance by filing Form 6 under Rule 25(2), read with Rule 13(1)(a), of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. He also told the court that the Electoral Registration Officer had offered assistance to Datta in completing the form.
The bench observed that, in light of the assurance given on behalf of the ECI and the instructions of the Electoral Registration Officer, Datta’s apprehension about being accused of making a false declaration was misplaced.
The court subsequently closed the writ proceedings, observing that the petitioners could submit Form 6 if they wished, and that their applications would be processed in accordance with law. The decision was delivered on October 14.
The petitioners had sought directions to recast the SIR procedure in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, arguing that the statutory process for correcting or transferring existing electoral entries, including through Form 8, should be preserved.
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