A New Column on Form 6: Prove Your Parents Were on the Roll
ECINET now asks first-time voters for their parents' SIR booth and serial number — but the statutory form it sits on has never been amended or notified
What happened
This is a small administrative detail that opens onto one of the largest questions in Indian public law: what may be changed by an executive instruction, and what requires the procedure the statute prescribes. A field added to a web form is doing work that, if done through the Rules, would need drafting, consultation and gazette publication. Learn this as a live illustration of delegated legislation and the limits of administrative convenience — it is far more examinable than the political controversy around it.
What the Law Prescribes vs What the Portal Asks
The Divergence on Form 6
| Statutory Form 6 | ECINET online form | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 | Portal interface |
| Qualifying test | Age 18+ & ordinary residence (Sec 19, RPA 1950) | Same plus parents' SIR booth & serial no. |
| Gazette notification | Required (Sec 28, RPA 1950) | Not issued |
| Downloadable version | Does not contain the new SIR declaration — the form stands unamended | |
| States/UTs completed (since June 2025) | 13 |
| States/UTs underway | 19 |
| Names deleted nationally | 5.58 crore |
| — of which West Bengal | ~27 lakh |
Source: Election Commission of India; Registration of Electors Rules, 1960; Representation of the People Act, 1950
Electoral registration in India rests on a three-layer framework. **Article 326** of the Constitution provides that elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies shall be on the basis of adult suffrage — every citizen not less than 18 years of age and not otherwise disqualified is entitled to be registered. **Article 324** vests superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission of India.
●The **Representation of the People Act, 1950** governs the preparation of electoral rolls, with Section 19 laying down the conditions for registration — being 18 or above on the qualifying date and ordinarily resident in the constituency.
●Section 28 empowers the Central Government, after consulting the ECI, to make rules by notification in the Official Gazette.
●The **Registration of Electors Rules, 1960** made under that power prescribe the statutory forms: Form 6 for inclusion of a new elector, Form 7 for objection to inclusion or seeking deletion, and Form 8 for correction of entries or shifting of residence.
●Because Form 6 is part of subordinate legislation, altering it requires amendment of the Rules and gazette notification, not an administrative change to a portal.
●The Special Intensive Revision currently underway has been completed in 13 states and union territories since June 2025 and is in progress in 19 others, and has resulted in 5.58 crore deletions nationally, about 27 lakh of them in West Bengal.
The statutory Form 6 and the online Form 6 have diverged — the printable version on the same portal lacks the new declaration, which is itself the evidence that no amendment was made.
◎ In Simple Words
To vote in India you must first get your name onto the electoral roll, and you apply using a form called Form 6. Recently, the online version of this form started asking new applicants to give details of where their parents appeared in the last big revision of the voter list — including their booth and serial number. The problem is that Form 6 is part of a set of rules made under a law, and changing it properly requires the government to issue an official notification. That has not happened. The printable version of the form still does not have this question, which shows the official form was never actually changed.
Factual Pointers
Practice · 2 questions
With reference to electoral registration in India, consider the following statements:
1. Form 6 under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 is the application for inclusion of the name of a new elector in the electoral roll.
2. The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 were framed under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
3. Article 326 of the Constitution provides for elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of adult suffrage.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, rules prescribing the forms for electoral registration are made by:
Mains Practice Questions
"Where a statute prescribes the manner of amending subordinate legislation, that procedure is mandatory and not directory." Examine this proposition with reference to recent changes to electoral registration requirements. (250 words, GS2)
A documentary requirement can operate as an eligibility condition. Critically examine this proposition in the light of Article 326 and Section 19 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. (250 words, GS2)
Discuss the scope and limits of the Election Commission's powers under Article 324 of the Constitution. (150 words, GS2)
Frequently Asked
· People also askWhat has changed on the ECINET Form 6?
Applicants for new voter registration must now furnish details of their parents' status in the last Special Intensive Revision, including the polling booth number and serial number. The downloadable, printable version of Form 6 on the same portal does not contain this section.
Prelims · GS2That divergence is itself the evidence that the statutory form was never amended — the online interface asks for more than the legal form prescribes.
SOURCE Election Commission of India; Organiser
Why is this legally problematic?
Form 6 is prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, made under Section 28 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which requires the Central Government to make or amend rules by notification in the Official Gazette after consulting the ECI. No such notification has been issued.
GS2 · PolitySettled administrative law holds that subordinate legislation may be altered only in the manner the parent statute prescribes. A portal update does not satisfy that requirement, so an applicant refused registration for not supplying the detail would have strong grounds of challenge.
SOURCE Representation of the People Act, 1950; Registration of Electors Rules, 1960
What is the Special Intensive Revision and how large has it been?
SIR is an intensive revision of electoral rolls involving verification of existing entries. It has been completed in 13 states and union territories since June 2025 and is underway in 19 others, producing 5.58 crore deletions nationally — including about 27 lakh electors in West Bengal.
Prelims · GS2Deletions were made largely on grounds of death, shifting of residence, prolonged absence or multiple enrolment. The scale represents a churn in the electoral roll without recent parallel.
SOURCE Election Commission of India
What does Article 326 guarantee?
Article 326 provides that elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies shall be on the basis of adult suffrage — every citizen not less than 18 years of age and not otherwise disqualified under the Constitution or any law is entitled to be registered as a voter.
Prelims · GS2The guarantee is individual. Section 19 of the RPA, 1950 accordingly conditions registration on age and ordinary residence, not on parentage — which is why a parent-linked documentary requirement sits uneasily with the constitutional scheme.
SOURCE Constitution of India, Article 326
Who does this requirement affect most?
First-time voters whose parents are deceased, undocumented, migrant, estranged, or were themselves never enrolled — categories correlating strongly with poverty and mobility. Locating a parent's booth and serial number from a past revision is a substantial evidentiary burden for such applicants.
GS2 · SocietyBecause enrolment is the gateway to the franchise, the effect is silent: applications are abandoned rather than formally refused, so exclusion leaves no record and generates no appeal.
SOURCE Election Commission of India
Can the Election Commission make such a change under Article 324?
Article 324 vests superintendence, direction and control of elections in the ECI, and its powers are wide — but they are residuary, operating where the law is silent rather than against it. They do not extend to amending Rules made by the Central Government under Section 28 of the RPA, 1950.
GS2 · PolityThe ECI has substantial discretion in matters the statutes do not cover, which is how the Model Code of Conduct evolved. Statutory forms, by contrast, are covered — so the residuary power is not available.
SOURCE Constitution of India, Article 324
What did Lal Babu Hussein v. Electoral Registration Officer decide?
In this 1995 judgment the Supreme Court held that persons whose names already appear in the electoral roll cannot be deleted without notice, proper inquiry and an opportunity of being heard, and that questions touching citizenship require due procedure rather than summary administrative satisfaction.
GS2 · JudiciaryThe same reasoning applies to exclusion at the point of entry: if a requirement can keep an eligible citizen off the roll, it should carry the procedural protections a Rule-based requirement would provide.
SOURCE Supreme Court of India