New Delhi, Sep 26 The Election Commission on Saturday asserted that all SIR orders received unanimous consent from all three Commissioners and that the updates to Form 6 for voter enrolment were upheld by the Supreme Court, as it sought to address issues at the centre of a raging row over decision-making in the poll panel and concerns over exclusion of voters from the rolls.
After its first meeting following reports claiming differences between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two Election Commissioners, the poll panel said in a statement that the letters sent by commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary pertained to an officer on deputation, rather than policy or IT division matters.
While the BJP and its allies claimed that the EC’s statement had allayed misconceptions and exposed the Congress’ allegations “built around a manufactured lie”, the principal opposition dubbed it as a “damage control” exercise by the EC and said that nothing short of CEC Kumar’s resignation or prosecution will suffice.
The Indian Express had reported that Sandhu and Joshi wrote separately to Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan after issuance of a work allocation order within the poll body that “threatened to concentrate the powers” at the EC centrally to add or delete names and update records in the voters’ list rather than allowing officials at the state level.
In the statement on Saturday, the Election Commission (EC) clarified that the work redistribution orders issued by the officer concerned were never implemented following directions from the two Commissioners.
Under fire over problems during the SIR of voter lists, the EC also announced a number of measures like home visit by election officials, help desks for those facing notices for removal from the rolls and extending deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra.
The newspaper report had claimed that Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.
The objections covered changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6, the handling of additions and deletions from electoral rolls, and centralised control over the electoral roll database.
The EC statement said all directions issued by the Commissioners to the officers of the Commission shall be meticulously complied with. Approval of the Commission will be taken for foreign trips of the officers, it said.
For all Commission meetings, the agenda will be circulated in advance and minutes will be issued and the Annual Performance Appraisal Reports of all the officers will be completed within the stipulated time frame, i.e., December 31 every year, said the EC statement issued after the meeting on Saturday attended by the CEC and the other two commissioners and with the approval of all three.
It is the second EC statement after the Indian Express report sparked an uproar, with the opposition demanding CEC Kumar’s sacking and the scrapping of SIR.
The opposition parties, which have been against the SIR, are preparing for a coordinated response, with the INDIA bloc parties likely to meet here on September 30 to discuss the strategy.
“I sent a message to Rahul Gandhi, and told him that we must sit together. A meeting of the INDIA bloc will most likely be held in Delhi’s Constitution Club on September 30,” TMC leader Mamata Banerjee said. CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby has also written to other opposition leaders, including Banerjee, for a coordinated response on the issue.
BJP president Nitin Nabin, however, said the opposition has once again been exposed for misleading the public on the SIR. “The Election Commission has made it clear that every decision relating to the SIR was taken unanimously by the full Commission. Yet, Congress chose to build its allegations around a manufactured lie and attack our constitutional bodies,” he posted on X.
Reacting sharply to the EC statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the poll has already caused “massive damage” to our democracy.
“It has just issued a wishy-washy Press Note that raises further questions on its intent, integrity, impartiality and credibility,” he said on X, and demanded that the SIR “be suspended immediately without delay”.
The EC said that the Deputy Election Commissioner’s oversight of the IT division was never withdrawn. A Committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) and including an independent expert from IIT/IIIT will review the ECINET to double-check that it complies with the provisions of the Acts and Rules and submit a report to the Commission.
Henceforth, the Commission said, all new initiatives about IT modules and portals will be discussed in the Committee of Officers (COO) before approval by the Commission.
The EC said that in recent months, it has taken numerous decisions, including SIR across the country. The order for the SIR issued on June 24, 2025, for all states/UTs, starting with Bihar, followed by West Bengal and 30 other states/UTs, was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission.
The same has been upheld by the Supreme Court of India in its order dated May 27, 2026, it said.
The schedule for SIR for 12 states and UTs was issued on October 27, 2025, and those for 19 states/ UTs was issued on May 14, 2026, with the unanimous approval of the EC. The final figure for the number of electors will be known only after final publication in the remaining 12 states of Phase-III.
“The declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. For the non-SIR period, the Forms applicable as per Rules (the Registration of Electors Rules 1960) will be used,” the statement said.
The poll body had issued its first statement on the matter on the day the newspaper reported the issues within the EC.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan, whose LJP (Ram Vilas) had on Friday said public faith in elections was at stake and called for the poll body to dispel misgivings, stressed that the EC had now clarified its position on all key issues.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the EC’s clarification reaffirmed the “integrity and credibility” of constitutional institutions, while JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha accused the opposition of spreading misconceptions about the poll body.
Naidu’s TDP is one of the key constituents of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA),
The EC also said that people issued notices in SIR need not go for personal hearing except in exceptional cases. In the case of any person to whom notice has been issued during the ongoing SIR for being unmapped and logical discrepancies, the BLOs will visit the homes of such persons for collection of documents and thereafter upload them on the ECINet, for decision by the ERO.
“Such persons need not be called for hearing to the ERO/AERO office. Only in exceptional circumstances, as decided by the ERO, the hearing will be held preferably online. “Any adult member of the family can be authorised by the elector to attend the hearing on their behalf, if required,” it said, adding that facilities for the online hearing are to be strengthened.
The District Election Officers (DEOs) will create an adequate number of help desks/hold special camps for the people living in night shelters, labourers, poor people, homeless etc. as per requirement.
The Commission said the SIR has already been completed in 20 States/UTs, including Bihar and West Bengal and any person whose name has got left out during SIR or thereafter, and any person, including young/ first-time voter, may apply to the concerned ERO for inclusion of their name in the electoral rolls under the process of continuous updation. “The CEOs have been directed to facilitate the same. The CEOs, DEOs, EROs will immediately launch a special drive for enrolment of these electors,” it said.
Also, in view of the request received from CEO Delhi, the period for filing claims and objections has been extended by the Commission till October 30, 2026, the statement said. The period of disposal of notices and claims and objections has been extended till November 30.
Also, as per the request received from the CEO Maharashtra, the period for filing claims and objections in Maharashtra has been extended by the Commission till October 12. The period of disposal of notices and claims and objections in Maharashtra has been extended till November 10.
(PTI News)
