New voters must provide parents' SIR details: EC mandates declaration in Form 6

The Election Commission (EC) has made it mandatory for new voters to submit the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) details of their parents when applying for inclusion in the electoral rolls. This requirement applies to applicants filling Form 6, both online and offline, according to EC officials.

The declaration was first introduced in the Bihar SIR launched in June last year. Since then, new applicants have been required to file the declaration along with Form 6. “Daily SIR bulletins of Bihar showed the form filled along with declarations,” an EC functionary said, adding that the requirement was added through instructions and that Form 6 itself has not been amended.

The EC official explained that the measure helps map electors and reduces the number of documents new voters need to submit. For online applications, the system does not allow users to proceed until the declaration is completed.

Separately, the poll authority has defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, rejecting concerns raised by United Nations Special Rapporteurs. The EC asserted that the process is transparent, constitutional, and has been endorsed by the Supreme Court. Officials said the SIR aims to include all eligible Indian citizens while removing duplicate, deceased, shifted, absent and foreign voters from electoral rolls.

Responding to allegations of large-scale deletion of minority voters, including in Nandigram, West Bengal, EC officials said voters had adequate opportunities to challenge exclusions and denied any bias. The UN rapporteurs had raised concerns over the SIR's transparency in a recent letter to the government.