The Election Commission of India has told the Supreme Court in a supplementary affidavit that left-out SIR voters, who were marked Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate and missed the draft rolls, will get one more opportunity to submit enumeration forms in seven States and Union Territories. The affidavit sets out the ECI’s own measures, and the Court has yet to consider it.
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has informed the Supreme Court, in a supplementary affidavit filed on November 14, 2026, that electors marked as Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD) and left out of the draft electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) will be given one more opportunity to submit enumeration forms, and that voters who shifted within the State need not file Form 8 [Rakesh Kumar Singh alias Rakesh Singh v. Union of India & Ors.].
The supplementary affidavit, filed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1246 of 2026 on behalf of Respondent Nos. 2 to 5, was affirmed by Deputy Election Commissioner Bhanu Prakash Yeturu, and Advocate Prateek Kumar appeared as the ECI’s counsel on record. It follows the ECI’s counter affidavit of October 26, 2026 and the Court’s order of October 27, 2026 permitting the ECI to file a supplementary affidavit.
Background: the October 28 suggestion
The affidavit states that during the Court’s proceedings on the Delhi SIR on October 28, 2026 in Anjali Bhardwaj v. Election Commission of India [W.P.(C) No. 1188/2026], a suggestion was made that the ECI could examine ways of reaching out to left-out ASDD voters. The Commission says it then decided to take further measures in the interest of voters, and issued directions on November 6, 2026 to the Chief Electoral Officers of Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Nagaland (Annexure R17).
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The November 6 directions
According to the Commission’s letter, electors who were issued enumeration forms but whose names could not be included in the draft roll because they were marked ASDD will get one more opportunity to be included in the Final Electoral Roll. The measures set out in the letter include the following:
- Booth-wise lists of such electors, with the probable reasons for non-inclusion, are to be displayed afresh on the notice boards of polling stations, Panchayat Bhawans, urban local body offices and the offices of block development and panchayat officers, and uploaded on the Chief Electoral Officer’s website in a readable PDF.
- Electors can submit the duly filled enumeration form (Annexure A) to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) for their current ordinary residence.
- Partially filled forms for such electors are to be generated afresh on the ERO dashboard on ECINET, and electors can also download or fill their forms on the website or ECINET app using the same EPIC number as before the deletion.
- Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are to try to reach such electors through house-to-house visits, enquiries from neighbours, family members and Resident Welfare Associations, available contact numbers, and coordination with Booth Level Agents of political parties, and forms may be sent through WhatsApp, e-mail or SMS where contact details exist.
- The Chief Electoral Officers and District Election Officers are to give the measures wide publicity through social media, national and local language newspapers, official websites and public announcements, including loudhailers in areas with homeless persons.
Electors who have not shifted
Electors who have not shifted may submit the signed enumeration form along with the Annexure-B statement giving the reason for the earlier non-submission. They can submit it to the ERO, AERO or BLO in person or through family members, and an online facility with e-sign is to be made available on ECINET. The Annexure-B statement also records that the elector has not submitted Form 6 for fresh enrolment during the SIR.
Electors who shifted within the State
For ASDD electors who have shifted residence within the State, Form 8 is not required. They submit the enumeration form with the Annexure-C statement giving the new address and Assembly constituency, along with address proof, to the ERO or AERO of the constituency they have moved to. They can also use the “Book a call with BLO” facility on the ECI website or ECINET app. For homeless persons without any residence document, the BLO’s field verification report will suffice.
How the forms will be processed
The forms are to be processed and disposed of by the EROs under Rule 21(1) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, after verification of the applicant’s eligibility, ordinary residence and other particulars, and field verification where required. Accepted forms will be kept for inclusion in the Final Electoral Roll of the ongoing SIR, and the same EPIC number that was assigned before the SIR will be re-assigned. An elector who has already submitted Form 6 during the SIR need not submit the enumeration form afresh.
The Commission has also directed that a mechanism be put in place to ensure that no elector is deprived of the opportunity to be included in the Final Electoral Roll, subject to the prescribed eligibility conditions, while taking care to avoid duplicate enrolment. The Chief Electoral Officers have been asked to furnish an action taken report at the earliest.
The Form 6 clarification of November 3
The affidavit also relies on a letter of November 3, 2026 (Annexure R16) sent to the Chief Electoral Officers of all States and Union Territories. It records that some previous electors who do not find their names in the draft roll were hesitant to file Form 6 because it carries a declaration that the name is being included for the first time, and they feared prosecution under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The Commission says the Form 6 declaration has been in force since August 1, 2022, and that filing Form 6 to seek inclusion in the final roll is not false merely because the elector was enrolled earlier.
The letter points to the Delhi High Court’s decision of October 14, 2026 in Nilotpal Datta & Anr. v. Election Commission of India & Ors. [W.P.(C) No. 14955/2026], which held the petitioners’ apprehension of a false declaration to be misplaced. The Commission’s own direction in the letter reads:
“no action under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, shall be initiated by an Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) against an elector merely on the ground that the elector had been included in a previous electoral roll and has submitted Form 6 during the SIR process or afterwards, provided that the elector is not already enrolled in any other Parliamentary or Assembly Constituency and the declaration made is otherwise in accordance with law.”
The Chief Electoral Officers have been asked to give the clarification wide publicity, including in local languages.
Oversight of the IT and ICT division
The affidavit also deals with oversight of the ECI’s IT and ICT Division. It states that the internal distribution of work had continued under an Office Order dated September 23, 2025, and that after a new Deputy Election Commissioner joined on November 2, 2026, Office Order No. 226/7/2026 dated November 4, 2026 was issued in partial modification (Annexure R15). Under it, oversight of the IT and ICT Division stays with a Deputy Election Commissioner, now a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, through whom the Director General (IT) puts up files before the Commission. The affidavit says the division has always remained under a Deputy Election Commissioner’s supervision.
What the Commission told the Court
Concluding the affidavit, the Commission says it remains committed to its constitutional duty of ensuring the purity of the election process, and acknowledges the difficulties of the exercise:
“There are challenges on account of the large numbers involved, and also because the full data is digitalised. There have been and will be problems that arise from time to time and the Commission remains alive to the need to ensure that those who are eligible to vote find their name in the voters lists but equally at the same time to ensure that all inconsistencies in these lists are addressed.”
Why the affidavit matters
The affidavit records what the ECI says it has done after the Court’s suggestion. It is not an order of the Court, and the Court has not ruled on whether the new mechanism is adequate or on the validity of the SIR exercise itself. Those questions remain before it.
For left-out voters, the practical change is that a missed enumeration form no longer ends the matter at the draft stage. Re-inclusion is not automatic, since each form is to be verified under Rule 21(1), and the Annexure-B and Annexure-C statements require a reason for the earlier non-submission. Voters who shifted within the State are spared a separate Form 8, and those previously enrolled are told they will not face Section 31 action merely for filing Form 6, subject to the stated conditions. How far the displayed lists, BLO outreach and the ECINET facility reach excluded voters will be seen as the exercise proceeds.
Case Title: Rakesh Kumar Singh alias Rakesh Singh v. Union of India & Ors. [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1246 of 2026]
Court: Supreme Court of India (Civil Original Jurisdiction)
Document: Supplementary affidavit on behalf of Respondent Nos. 2 to 5 (Election Commission of India), affirmed by Deputy Election Commissioner Bhanu Prakash Yeturu
Date of filing: November 14, 2026
Counsel for the ECI: Advocate Prateek Kumar
