The Supreme Court clarified that no modifications made to Form 6 used for registering new voters have been approved by the court, amidst allegations of unilateral decisions by the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
During a hearing on Monday, Chief Justice Surya Kant clarified that the Supreme Court has not approved any changes to Form 6, a document used for registering new voters. The statement was made in response to petitions seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of unilateral decisions regarding the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
Kant further stated that any modified Form 6 has not been approved by the court, emphasizing the need for transparency in such matters. He also expressed a desire to see who made the modifications once the record is produced.
The Election Commission had earlier claimed in a statement on September 26 that a declaration attached to Form 6 for the voter roll revision exercise had been upheld by the Supreme Court. However, during the hearing on Monday, the bench refused to issue an interim order on the pleas to suspend Kumar.
In response to Kant's remarks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of changing Form 6 'illegally and unilaterally'. Gandhi made this statement in a social media post, attaching a screenshot of the poll panel’s September 26 statement. The post also accused Kumar of abusing his position to help the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The controversy over Form 6 stems from its modification, which now requires applicants to state whether they or their relatives were part of the last special intensive revision of electoral rolls. Although this new declaration is not marked as mandatory, applicants cannot submit the online form without filling it.
Source:
Scroll.in
