Should voters left out of Delhi’s roll worry about Form 6? Not while the matter is pending, the Chief Justice of India said orally on Wednesday, as the Supreme Court listed the Delhi SIR Form 6 dispute for November 19 and asked the petitioners to file an application on the Election Commission of India’s November 3 clarification.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court did not pass any order on the merits on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, when petitioners challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Delhi’s electoral rolls told it that the ECI’s latest clarification asking deleted voters to apply through Form 6 ran contrary to the Court’s observations of last week. It asked them to bring the clarification on record through an application and said it would take up the issue on November 19 [Anjali Bhardwaj & Anr. v. Election Commission of India & Ors.].
The matter was mentioned orally before Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who sits with Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana on the Bench hearing the Delhi SIR matter.
The Commission’s November 3 clarification
The Commission’s November 3 communication to the Chief Electoral Officers of all States and Union Territories states that an elector missing from the draft roll may file Form 6 to seek inclusion in the final roll, whether or not the elector was enrolled earlier, and that this is not a false declaration by itself:
“The submission of Form 6 in such circumstances is, therefore, for the purpose of inclusion in the electoral roll under SIR or afterwards and is not, by itself, false merely because the elector was previously enrolled.”
The ECI has also said no Electoral Registration Officer shall act under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 against such an elector merely because the person was on an earlier roll, provided the elector is not enrolled in another constituency and the declaration is otherwise lawful. It relied on the Delhi High Court’s October 14 ruling that voters’ fear of being accused of a false declaration for filing Form 6 was misplaced.
The petitioners’ objection and the Chief Justice’s response
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, for petitioners Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri, submitted that the ECI’s statement of November 3 went against the Court’s oral observations of October 28 that voters whose names figured in the 2026 rolls could not be compelled to register as new voters through Form 6. On that date the Bench had suggested that persons who shifted residence be allowed to use Form 8, and that those unable to submit enumeration forms be allowed to do so.
Responding orally, the CJI said the matter was pending before the Court and people need not be apprehensive. He also indicated that the Court could, if required, ask the ECI to extend the deadline further.
47.56 lakh electors outside the draft roll
The dispute concerns about 47.56 lakh electors left out of Delhi’s draft roll under the Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD) category. According to the petitioners, about 31.59 lakh were marked permanently shifted and 11.73 lakh absent or untraceable. In a November 3 letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, they have asked for acceptance of Form 8 and enumeration forms from ASDD voters, availability of the list and forms at booth or block level, and publicity in Hindi and other languages.
Where the dispute stands
Both sides now have a stated position on record. The ECI says Form 6 carries no risk of prosecution for previously enrolled voters; the petitioners say asking lakhs of existing voters to declare themselves as first-time applicants is the wrong route and that Form 8 or the enumeration form should be accepted. The Court’s remarks on Wednesday were oral and it has not decided which route is correct. The November 19 hearing will decide whether the Commission’s clarification stands or whether the Court steps in, possibly with an extended deadline.
Case Title: Anjali Bhardwaj & Anr. v. Election Commission of India & Ors.
Bench: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, Supreme Court of India
Date of Mention: November 4, 2026
Next Hearing: November 19, 2026
Appearance: Advocate Prashant Bhushan for the Petitioners; Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu appeared for the ECI at the October 28 hearing