The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a series of changes since September 23, after an Indian Express report said that two of its three members, election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had recorded at least 14 objections over 10 months. They claimed the decisions in question were taken without their knowledge or approval.
The objections related to changes in the management of the electoral-roll database and the handling of voter additions, deletions and restorations. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the electoral roll Special Intensive Review (SIR). Authorities responded with Metro closures, Internet shutdowns and prohibitory orders, and deployed extra security personnel, turning Delhi into a virtual fortress. The ECI said differences of opinion are a normal part of its decision-making and maintained that its decisions had been unanimous.
New internal decision-making rules
At a meeting on September 26, the ECI decided that agendas will be circulated before its meetings and minutes issued afterwards. Officers must comply with commissioners’ directions, and foreign visits by officers will need the commission’s approval. New IT modules and portals will first be discussed by a committee of officers before going to the commission.
It also ordered a review of ECINet, the platform behind its electoral-roll systems, by a committee led by a senior deputy election commissioner and including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT. Field officers are to be given additional flexibility in the system where needed.
Form 6 declaration
In July, the online Form 6, used to register new voters, was altered to include a declaration asking applicants whether their own or a relative’s name appeared in the roll from the previous intensive revision. On September 26, the ECI said the form prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would apply outside the SIR period. The declaration was later dropped from the online Form 6 in states where the SIR has ended.
Limit on deletion objections
On October 9, the ECI capped the number of Form 7 applications one elector can file at 10 during a claims-and-objections period, and at five a month during continuous updating of the rolls. The step followed allegations of bulk filing of objections against registered voters. Electoral registration officers have been told to hear the objector in person, record a separate statement for each application, and let the affected voter be heard before deciding.
SIR hearings
The ECI has changed the process for electors who received notices during the SIR because their records could not be matched to the previous intensive-revision roll or showed what it calls “logical discrepancies”. Booth-level officers (BLOs) will now visit these voters, collect supporting documents and upload them to ECINet for the electoral registration officer to decide. Voters will no longer routinely have to appear at the officer’s office. Hearings will be kept for exceptional cases, preferably held online, and an adult family member may attend on the elector’s behalf where permitted.
Drive to help left-out voters
In an October 1 communication to state and Union territory chief electoral officers, the commission ordered a special drive to find eligible voters left off the rolls after the SIR. BLOs are to compare current rolls with pre-SIR ones, identify missing names and visit households to help eligible residents file Form 6 applications.
Special Summary Revision
On October 15, the ECI announced a Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories, with January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date. Unlike an SIR, which prepares voter rolls from scratch, an SSR builds on the existing roll and lets eligible voters register, correct details and raise objections. Draft rolls are due on November 12, claims and objections can be filed until December 11, and final rolls are scheduled for January 4, 2027. Separate schedules will follow for states where the SIR is under way or recently concluded.
Readable PDFs of rolls
The commission has directed that draft and final electoral rolls, without photographs, be given to recognised political parties in “readable PDF format” instead of image-only PDFs. Supplements covering additions, deletions and modifications must also be shared at the draft stage. The change answers a long-standing Opposition demand for rolls that are easier to search and analyse.
SIR deadlines
The September 26 decisions pushed Delhi’s claims-and-objections deadline to October 30 and its disposal deadline to November 30. Maharashtra’s deadlines were also extended after a further revision: claims and objections can be filed until October 26, disposal is due by November 10, and the final roll by November 16.
