Only 0.27% of 4.5 lakh Form 6s have been disposed of so far in Delhi

Why in the News

The claims and objections stage of Delhi’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is meant to put wrongly dropped voters back on the electoral roll, but only 1,238 of 4.5 lakh Form 6 applications for inclusion have been decided in 42 days. Over the same period, more than 5,800 Form 7 applications seeking deletions have been disposed of, and fewer than ten days remain to file for inclusion.

What is Form 6, and how is it meant to work?

1. What it is: Form 6 is the application to add a name to the electoral roll, meant for new voters and now also for those dropped. It is like re-registering at a library after a membership card was cancelled.
2. Who must file it: Eligible citizens left out of the draft roll, the provisional list open to objection, must file it to enter the final roll, due on December 4.
3. How it is checked: A Booth Level Officer (BLO), the field official for a polling booth, verifies the applicant in person and reports. The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) decides on that report.
4. The new declaration: Voters left out must attach a new declaration that asks for details of the previous SIR.
5. The takeaway: Form 6 is the only road back onto the roll, so slow disposal keeps eligible voters off it as surely as a deletion does.

How large is the backlog?

1. Scale of deletions: The draft roll published on August 31 removed 47.5 lakh names under the ‘absent, shifted, dead and duplicate’ (ASDD) categories.
2. Applications after the draft: About 2.39 lakh Form 6 applications came after the draft roll, from voters seeking re-inclusion or enrolling for the first time.
3. Applications before the draft: The remaining 2.12 lakh were filed between June and August, before the draft roll was published.
4. Constituencies with no disposal: No Form 6 has been decided in 15 of 70 constituencies. These include Burari, which saw Delhi’s highest deletions in absolute numbers.
5. North district: Over 36,000 applications have been received there, and only 27 have been disposed of.

Why are deletions moving faster than inclusions?

1. Same field work for both: BLOs must verify applications for inclusion and objections alike. A Form 7 objection also carries a 15-day notice period, so deletion is not the lighter task.
2. Notice cases first: The stated reason for the delay is that BLOs are busy with notice cases, the voters asked to prove their existing entries.
3. Reverification order: The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has directed EROs to reverify the ASDD deletions through door-to-door BLO visits, which falls on the same staff.
4. Counting rule: Disposal counts both accepted and rejected applications, so even the small number decided does not equal names restored.

What are applicants facing?

1. Rejection without reasons: An Okhla resident’s online applications for herself and her daughter, who turned 19 this year, were rejected twice. No BLO contacted them and the reason was not explained.
2. Unreachable officials: Another applicant who shifted within the same area filed on September 18 and was assigned a BLO two days later. The BLO’s number was unreachable, and the BLO’s name was missing from the area’s BLO list.
3. Declaration confusion: In parts of Delhi, BLOs are telling citizens that previous SIR details are mandatory.

Challenges

1. Deadline squeeze: Filing closes on October 30 and disposal is due by November 30, so a voter rejected late may have no chance to reapply.
2. Overloaded BLOs: The same officers handle notice cases, reverification, inclusions and objections in one fixed window.
3. Opaque rejections: A rejection with no stated reason leaves the applicant unable to correct the error.
4. Tilt toward exclusion: Deciding deletions faster than inclusions shifts the final roll against eligible voters.

Way Forward

1. Disposal targets: The Delhi CEO should publish weekly, constituency-wise Form 6 disposal targets, starting with the constituencies where none has been decided.
2. Reasoned orders: EROs should give written reasons for every rejection, with a fresh chance to file after the deadline.
3. Extra verification staff: Deploy additional field staff only for Form 6 checks, so inclusions do not wait behind notice cases.
4. Clear declaration rules: The CEO should state publicly what the new declaration requires and accept offline forms.

Conclusion

Delhi’s revision is removing names far faster than it is restoring them, and inclusion now depends on field staff already stretched by other duties. Whether disposal catches up before the final roll is published will decide how many eligible voters stay excluded.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2026, GS2, 10 marks] Is the right to vote a fundamental right? Discuss the position of the Election Commission of India while undertaking the revision of electoral rolls. Can it also examine the question of citizenship of voters?”