Delhi voters get until 25 November to file claims as EC extends SIR dates, and says Form 6 will not bring action against them

Voters in Delhi can now file claims and objections on the draft electoral roll until 25 November, after the Election Commission revised its schedule for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Delhi and five states. Delhi's earlier deadline was 30 October. Its final roll will now come out on 22 December.

The Commission notified the changes on 29 October. It has told Chief Electoral Officers to publicise the dates and to inform political parties in writing.

The new dates

• Delhi: claims until 25 November, notices and disposal until 15 December, final roll on 22 December
• Maharashtra: claims until 13 November (earlier 26 October), notices and disposal until 25 November, final roll on 30 November
• Telangana: notices and disposal until 26 November, final roll on 30 November
• Nagaland: notices and disposal until 25 November, final roll on 30 November
• Andhra Pradesh and Haryana: notices and disposal until 20 November, final roll on 30 November

The reports we read did not give the revised claims deadlines for the last four states, so voters there should check with their Chief Electoral Officer.

Why the dates moved

The Week said the schedule was revised after representations from the chief electoral officers. The Pioneer added that the changes follow the Supreme Court's observations on the Delhi process, and that the court had asked the Commission not to insist on a cut-off date for Form 6 applications. No other report we read made that link.

The extension follows a hearing on 28 October, when the bench asked the Commission why voters marked as shifted were being told to apply afresh. The opposition, meanwhile, has made the revision the centre of its campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner.

The Form 6 clarification

A separate issue has been whether a voter who was on an earlier roll takes a legal risk by filing Form 6, the form meant for new enrolment. The form carries a declaration, and Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 deals with false declarations.

On 3 November the Commission issued a clarification on this, according to SCC Online. Electors whose names are missing from the draft roll but who were enrolled earlier may submit Form 6 "without incurring liability under Section 31." The declaration, it said, "is not, by itself, false merely because the elector was previously enrolled."

An Electoral Registration Officer shall not begin action under Section 31 merely because the person was on a previous roll, provided that they are not already enrolled in another constituency and the declaration is otherwise lawful. Chief Electoral Officers have been asked to publicise this, including in local languages.

The clarification comes after a Delhi High Court ruling of 14 October in Nilotpal Datta v. Election Commission of India. The court called the petitioners' apprehension "misplaced" and said they were at liberty to submit Form 6.

What voters can do

Our guide to Forms 6 and 8 explains which form applies when. The final rolls are due on 30 November in the five states and on 22 December in Delhi.