Election Commission Clears Air: Deleted Voters Can Use Form 6 For Re-Inclusion Without Fear Of Prosecution

The Election Commission has issued a critical clarification for voters across the country, easing anxieties surrounding electoral roll revisions. In a fresh directive sent to chief electoral officers of all states and union territories, the poll panel confirmed that voters whose names were expunged from draft rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) can freely submit Form 6 to restore their names without facing prosecution.

The intervention addresses widespread panic among citizens who worried that signing the standard Form 6 declaration—which states that an applicant is registering their name for the first time—would trap them under tough legal provisions for submitting false statements.

Clearing The Legal Ambiguity Under The RP Act

Under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, anyone who makes a false declaration while updating electoral rolls faces strict penalties, including up to a year of imprisonment, a fine, or both. This penal clause caused severe hesitation among legitimate electors whose names mysteriously vanished from draft rolls during recent intensive revisions. Fearing that acknowledging previous registration while using Form 6 would invite criminal charges, many eligible citizens held back from applying.

The Election Commission stepped in following a Delhi High Court order dated October 14, which explicitly dismissed such fears as misplaced. Aligning with the judicial view, the poll body instructed electoral registration officers (EROs) not to initiate any punitive action under Section 31 against applicants simply because they had been listed on past electoral rolls.

Safeguards And Eligibility Guidelines

While providing significant relief, the Commission outlined clear boundaries to prevent abuse of the process. The immunity from prosecution applies only if the applicant is not simultaneously enrolled in any other parliamentary or assembly constituency and if the declaration is otherwise legally compliant.

The poll panel also noted that the standard declaration text embedded within Form 6 has remained in active force since August 1, 2022. By formally reiterating that submitting the form for re-inclusion is not inherently false for previously registered citizens, the Commission aims to streamline roll updates and ensure no legitimate voter is disenfranchised during the ongoing revision drive.