The Election Commission of India has removed the controversial SIR-linked declaration from the online Form 6 in states where the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is complete or has not yet begun. The change, made on September 30, applies to the ECINET app and state CEO portals.

The statutory Form 6 under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, remains unchanged. The scrapped Annexure-D had asked new applicants to link themselves, their parents and even grandparents to earlier electoral rolls, complete with booth and serial numbers — a requirement critics called onerous for ordinary voters.

The declaration stays in force in the 13 states where SIR is still ongoing. The rollback follows objections from within the Commission itself: Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had opposed the annexure, with Sandhu calling it “unauthorised and illegal” in an August 13 note. The Indian Express reported around 14 such objections over ten months.

The decision came days after a full-commission meeting on September 26 chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Opposition parties, already protesting the SIR exercise, are expected to treat the rollback as vindication.