Amid a swirl of allegations over its internal functioning, the Election Commission has put out its own account. In a press note approved by the full Commission, it says its major decisions, on the Special Intensive Revision and the Form 6 declaration, were unanimous and Supreme Court-upheld, and announces an expert-assisted review of its ECINet system, a set of internal-governance measures, and extended deadlines for voter claims and objections in Delhi and Maharashtra.
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has stated that its decisions on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and on the declaration attached to Form 6 were taken with the unanimous approval of the Commission and have been upheld by the Supreme Court, in a press note issued after a meeting of the full Commission.
The press note (No. ECI/PN/120/2026), issued following the Commission’s meeting on September 26, 2026, records a series of decisions and clarifications, and states that it has the approval of the full Commission. It comes in the backdrop of recent reports of internal differences within the Commission, and of petitions before the Supreme Court concerning the conduct of the SIR and the functioning of the Chief Election Commissioner.
‘Unanimous approval’ and Supreme Court’s imprimatur
The Commission reiterated that the order for the SIR, issued on June 24, 2025 for all States and Union Territories, starting with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 others, was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission, and that it had been upheld by the Supreme Court by its order of May 27, 2026. The schedules for the SIR in 12 States/UTs (issued October 27, 2025) and in 19 States/UTs (issued May 14, 2026) were, it said, also issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission. It added that the SIR had been completed in 20 States/UTs, including Bihar and West Bengal, and that the final elector figures would be known only after the final publication in the remaining 12 States in Phase-III.
On Form 6, the note stated that the declaration attached to it for the SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court, and that, for the non-SIR period, the forms applicable under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 would be used. It also said that any person whose name was left out during the SIR or thereafter, including young and first-time voters, may apply to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for inclusion under the continuous-updation process, and that Chief Electoral Officers had been directed to launch a special enrolment drive.
On the Cabinet Secretary letter and IT oversight
Addressing points that had featured in the reports of internal differences, the Commission stated that the letter to the Cabinet Secretary was not related to any policy matter of the Commission or the IT division, but related to the working of an officer on deputation to the ECI. It further stated that the work-redistribution orders issued by the concerned officer were not actually implemented after the orders of the two Election Commissioners, and that the oversight over the IT division by the Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) was never actually withdrawn.
ECINet review committee
The Commission announced that field officers have role-based access to the ECINet system as per their statutory powers, and that a committee headed by the Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, and including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT, will review the ECINet system to double-check that it complies with the provisions of the Acts and Rules, and submit a report to the Commission. Various upgrades to the portal had already been made based on inputs from State CEOs, and any further flexibility required by field officers would be made operational. Henceforth, the note said, all new initiatives on IT modules and portals will be discussed in the Committee of Officers before approval by the Commission.
Internal-governance measures
The note also recorded a set of internal-governance decisions: that the agenda for all Commission meetings will be calculated in advance and issued to members; that the Annual Performance Appraisal Reports of all officers will be completed within the stipulated timeframe, by December 31 each year; that the Commission’s approval will be taken for foreign trips of officers; and that all directions issued by the Commissioners to the officers of the Commission shall be meticulously complied with.
Voter-facing measures and extended timelines
On the SIR process itself, the Commission decided that, where a notice has been issued to a person during the ongoing SIR for being unmapped or for logical discrepancies, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit the homes of such persons to collect documents and upload them on the ECINet for the ERO’s decision, and that such persons need not be called for a hearing at the ERO or AERO office. Only in exceptional circumstances, as decided by the ERO, will a hearing be held, preferably online, and any adult family member may be authorised by the elector to attend on their behalf. District Election Officers were directed to create adequate help desks and hold special camps for people living in night shelters, labourers, the poor and the homeless.
Acting on requests from the Chief Electoral Officers concerned, the Commission extended the period for filing claims and objections in Delhi until October 30, 2026, and the period for disposal of notices and claims and objections there until November 30, 2026. For Maharashtra, the period for filing claims and objections was extended until October 12, 2026, and the disposal period until November 10, 2026.
Why it matters
The press note is, in substance, the Commission’s institutional response to a controversy that has played out over recent days in news reports and in petitions before the Supreme Court, in which it has been alleged that key decisions on the SIR and the electoral-roll databases were taken by the Chief Election Commissioner without the concurrence of the two Election Commissioners. By asserting that the SIR orders and the Form 6 declaration were passed with the unanimous approval of the full Commission and upheld by the Supreme Court, and by clarifying the Cabinet Secretary letter and the position on IT oversight, the Commission has sought to rebut the core of those allegations.
Several of the measures announced also read as a response to the specific concerns raised. The constitution of an ECINet review committee with an independent IIT/IIIT expert, the routing of new IT initiatives through the Committee of Officers, and the internal-governance commitments on advance agendas, APAR timelines, approval for foreign trips and compliance with Commissioners’ directions, all touch on the areas of reported friction, and signal an attempt to institutionalise collective decision-making and oversight.
For voters, the operative significance lies in the SIR-facing decisions: home visits by BLOs, the dispensing with in-person ERO hearings save in exceptional cases, help desks for the marginalised, the continuous-updation route for left-out and first-time voters, and the extended claims-and-objections timelines in Delhi and Maharashtra. These are the parts of the note that directly affect the electorate, whatever the outcome of the larger disputes. The allegations that prompted the response remain the subject of proceedings before the Supreme Court, on which this report expresses no view; the press note sets out the Commission’s own stated position.
Document: Election Commission of India Press Note No. ECI/PN/120/2026, dated September 26, 2026, issued after the meeting of the Commission held on September 26, 2026, stated to have the approval of the full Commission.