Election Commission Files Affidavit in Supreme Court

NEW DELHI — The Election Commission of India (ECI) has strongly defended its decision-making process in the Supreme Court, asserting that all orders concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists were adopted unanimously by the poll panel.

In an affidavit submitted to the top court, the Commission responded to various petitions challenging the voter list revision process. The poll body maintained that the legal challenges brought forward by opposition leaders are based entirely on newspaper reports and should be dismissed outright.

The controversy surrounding the ECI erupted following reports suggesting that two of the three Commissioners were kept out of the loop or disagreed with the process adopted for the SIR and the subsequent inclusion of new voters.

Unanimous Decisions and Internal Process

Reiterating the integrity of its administrative procedures, the Commission stated that three specific orders related to the SIR process—issued in June 2025, October 2025, and May 2026—were all unanimously approved.

The poll panel detailed its internal workflow, explaining that files originating from respective divisions are routed sequentially through the Election Commissioners before reaching the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for final approval. Once approved, decisions are officially noted, signed by the leadership, and implemented by the ECI Secretariat.

Addressing internal deliberations, the Commission clarified that observations, suggestions, or varying queries raised by individual members during the file consideration phase cannot be interpreted as the official final decision of the body.

"In any decision-making process, any suggestion, observation or query by the Chief Election Commissioner or the Election Commissioners either to other Election Commissioner/Chief Election Commissioner or to any officer of the Commission does not constitute a decision of the Election Commission under Section 18 of the 2023 Act," the affidavit explicitly noted.

Clarification on Form 6

Rejecting allegations regarding alterations to voter registration documents, the Commission addressed concerns surrounding 'Form 6'. The poll body clarified that none of the three disputed SIR orders have altered the statutory 'Form 6' utilized for registering new voters.

According to the ECI, 'Form 6' remains the standard prescribed form, while the 'Declaration Form' utilized alongside it is a separate documentation introduced specifically as part of the specialized revision protocol.

Upcoming Supreme Court Hearing

A bench of the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions challenging the ECI's functioning tomorrow. The hearings will cover seven separate petitions, including those filed by senior political figures such as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Digvijay Singh, and Asaduddin Owaisi. Several petitioners have sought the suspension of the Chief Election Commissioner, questioning the administrative mechanism by which the poll panel arrived at its contested decisions.