New Delhi, Oct. 28 -- The Election Commission cannot alter Forms 6, 7, and 8, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while hearing a bunch of petitions on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters in Delhi, questioning why individuals who were already on electoral rolls are being asked to fill out Form 6, meant for new voters, to have their names re-enrolled.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, said Forms 6, 7, and 8 are prescribed formats and cannot be altered. The bench, which also included Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, also questioned why the Commission is insisting on giving a deadline of October 30 when no election is due in the national capital in the near future. "Do not set a cut-off date for the re-enrolment of names," the bench said.
Observing that the right to vote is vital and it cannot be forfeited even if a voter is absent, the judges asked the Election Commission to devise a mechanism to reach out to 47 lakh of 1.45 crore Delhi voters whose names were struck out in the draft voter list during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls.
The top court questioned the poll panel on the requirement for previously enrolled voters, whose names are omitted from the draft rolls, to file Form 6 meant for first-time enrolment to seek inclusion.
The judges asked the Election Commission to devise a simpler solution for voters who, for various reasons, were unable to submit their enumeration forms. "If an individual previously on the electoral roll is no longer listed, a solution tailored to their specific situation should be found, rather than categorising them as a "new voter", the bench said.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioners, argued that a large number of voters either did not receive the enrolment forms or were unable to submit them for various reasons. This includes individuals who may have relocated from one part of Delhi to another. Form-8 is intended for address changes, while Form-6 is for the registration of new voters. Consequently, it is unreasonable to compel existing voters to declare - via Form-6 - that they were not previously included in any electoral roll, he said.
The Chief Justice remarked that the Election Commission should not merely wait for voters to submit applications. Instead, it should make efforts to reach out to them directly. The Commission should continue the process of accepting applications via Form 6 and Form 8, urging them to "adopt the simplest solution," he suggested.
The Election Commission told the bench that it will consider accepting late enumeration forms and will extend the October 30 deadline if needed.
"The right to vote is a vital right. Your job is to act with due diligence. Let's say the voter was amiss... will that be ground to forfeit the right forever? A voter comes and says, please put in these papers. You say, put in Form 6. How does he file Form 6?
"This is structural incongruity... if he has not filled an enumeration form and draft roll having been published, he has not shifted... will you say the person forever loses the right to come in roll?" Justice Bagchi asked.
The petitions filed by transparency activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri argued that when the SIR process started in Delhi, the total number of voters was approximately 1.45 crore. Of these, about 9.7 million (97 lakh) individuals submitted their enumeration forms, while forms from approximately 47 lakh people were not received.
Bhushan said according to the Election Commission, approximately 43 lakh voters have been categorised as either 'permanently shifted' or 'absent.' Within this group, around 31.59 lakh voters are marked as 'permanently shifted,' while approximately 11 lakh are classified as 'missing' or 'untraceable'. Additionally, around 2 lakh voters have been marked as deceased.
Taking note of the submissions of senior advocate D S Naidu appearing for the Election Commission, the CJI said that it will take up again after two weeks the plea filed by activist Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri. The plea sought a direction to the Election Commission to place in the public domain the list of electors who were issued notices during the SIR of electoral rolls in Delhi along with specific reasons for each notice.
The bench also suggested that the EC publish lists of voters it had been unable to contact, along with details of their previous polling locations, and publicise the process for restoring their names to the electoral rolls. It asked the EC to continue accepting Forms 6 and 8, issue public notices clarifying that there was no cutoff date for approaching the authorities at this stage and persuade affected voters to come forward.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.