New Delhi, Nov. 5 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) has restored Deputy Election Commissioner-level oversight of its information technology division following a dispute over internal work allocation, while separately revising its online voter enrolment process to require Form 6 and the accompanying Special Intensive Revision (SIR) declaration to be submitted independently.

Under a fresh work allocation order dated November 4, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna has been directed to route files relating to IT, ICT and Grievances/PGRS through Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma. The order takes immediate effect and partially modifies an office order dated September 23, 2025.

The latest arrangement reverses a change introduced on July 28, 2026, when Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg removed IT and ICT from the charge of then Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar and placed them under Khanna. The arrangement indicated that she would report directly to the Commission rather than through a Deputy Election Commissioner.

The move triggered objections from Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, who wrote separately to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan on July 29, questioning Garg's decision to alter officers' responsibilities without consulting or informing them. They said the changes had been made despite repeated oral and written instructions to officials.

The two commissioners also alleged that Garg had issued similar orders on an earlier occasion when he was serving as Deputy Election Commissioner (Administration).

The controversy subsequently reached the Supreme Court, where the Commission maintained in a counter-affidavit that the July 28 order had never been implemented. It said the two election commissioners had issued a joint direction on July 30, following which the existing reporting arrangement continued.

The ECI said Khanna had continued routing files through a Deputy Election

Commissioner, with Garg overseeing the IT division after Sanjay Kumar's departure in August.

An EC official said the work allocation orders reflected unanimous decisions of the Commission and that there had been no change in the reporting hierarchy of the IT chief. "There is no change in the reporting structure of DG (IT)," the official said, adding that Khanna had always reported to an officer at the Deputy Election Commissioner level.

The dispute became public after reports in September revealed that the two commissioners had approached the Cabinet Secretary. Their letters, obtained under the Right to Information Act by transparency activist Commodore (retired) Lokesh Batra, detailed their objections to Garg's actions.

In a subsequent press note, the Commission said the correspondence concerned the functioning of an officer on deputation rather than any policy matter involving the Commission or its IT division. It also maintained that oversight of the department had never actually been withdrawn.

Khanna joined the ECI on deputation from the National Informatics Centre in 2025. She heads the Commission's IT department and oversees its digital infrastructure, including systems used for electoral-roll management.

Separately, the Commission has revised the online submission procedure for Form 6, which is used by people seeking inclusion in electoral rolls, and the accompanying SIR declaration.

Previously, applicants could submit both documents together through a single one-time password (OTP) verification and electronic signature. Under the revised procedure, each document must be submitted separately, with an independent OTP verification and e-Sign. Applicants must complete both steps for their submissions to be accepted.

The change follows an October 21 decision by the Commission's electoral roll division, which was also referred to in its recent counter-affidavit before the Supreme Court. The ECI said online applications would be divided into two distinct components, Form 6 as prescribed under the rules and the SIR declaration, bringing the digital procedure in line with physical submissions.

The revision comes amid concerns among previously enrolled voters whose names are missing from draft SIR rolls. Some had questioned whether submitting Form 6, which contains a declaration that an applicant is seeking inclusion for the first time, could amount to a false declaration and expose them to prosecution under electoral laws.

The Commission has clarified that previously enrolled voters whose names are missing from draft SIR rolls can also use Form 6 to seek inclusion.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.