The Supreme Court today said it will look into the matter concerning Form 6 issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and which is needed for registering as a new voter.
What was clear was that the “modified” Form 6 has not been approved by the Supreme Court, it said.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made these observations while hearing a petition that asked to check whether Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar single-handedly exercised powers constitutionally designated for the entire multi-member poll body which also includes two election commissioners (ECs). The Supreme Court has not yet made a decision on the matter of Form 6 and would see the issue in-depth only after going through the records whenever they are presented to the court, Chief Justice Kant said, adding he wants to see who amended Form 6. In the hearing today on the petition linked to the row over the CEC’s decisions, Chief Justice Kant also observed that any such amendment to Form 6 has not been approved by the Supreme Court.
Gokhale referred to a Supreme Court judgement which came in May and which he said was cited by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to claim the Supreme Court had “upheld the ECI’s power to change Form 6” – while the additional declaration rule came two months later. “How can the Supreme Court uphold an action by ECI that has not even been taken yet?” he had said.
