Former Punjab Special Chief Secretary urges Election Commissioners to place reported concerns over electoral-roll revision before the full commission
Patiala, September 23, 2026: Former Punjab Special Chief Secretary KBS Sidhu has written an open letter to Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, urging them to seek a meeting of the full Election Commission of India (ECI) to discuss their reported objections concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Sidhu, a retired IAS officer who served in several election-related positions during his 37-year career, said the two Election Commissioners could seek a formal decision of the full Commission on matters where they believed earlier decisions required reconsideration.
His letter follows a report by The Indian Express that Sandhu and Joshi had recorded at least 14 objections over a period of 10 months on various issues concerning electoral-roll management. The reported matters included changes to Form 6, access to the electoral-roll database, appeals involving voters in West Bengal and software-related issues concerning the restoration of voters in Goa.
Concerns Over Form 6
One of the issues referred to in Sidhu’s letter concerns a reported addition to Form 6, which is used by citizens to apply for voter registration.
According to the report cited by Sidhu, applicants were asked whether their own name, or that of a parent or grandparent, appeared in the electoral roll from the previous SIR. The reported objections questioned the legal basis for the change.
Sidhu argued that voter registration should continue to be governed by the constitutional and statutory provisions applicable to electoral registration and raised concerns about the possible effect of additional requirements on first-time voters.
Electoral Database Access Also Raised
Sidhu also referred to reported concerns regarding access to the electoral-roll database by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).
The issues reportedly included the centralisation of control over the electoral-roll technology system and its implications for officers responsible for maintaining electoral rolls.
He urged the Election Commissioners to seek a formal resolution from the full Commission on these matters.
West Bengal and Goa Cases
The open letter also referred to reported concerns involving appeals in West Bengal against decisions concerning the restoration of voters to electoral rolls.
Another issue involved 97 voters in Goa who were reportedly found eligible by Electoral Registration Officers but could not be restored because of limitations in the software system, according to the report cited by Sidhu.
Five Measures Suggested by Sidhu
Sidhu urged the two Election Commissioners to consider several measures, including:
- Withdrawing the reported Form 6 question until the relevant rules are lawfully amended.
- Restoring complete ERONet access for Electoral Registration Officers and conducting an independent audit.
- Disclosing the authority behind the West Bengal appeals and withdrawing appeals that were not authorised by the Commission.
- Modifying the software to enable EROs to record decisions restoring eligible voters.
- Clarifying that an elector should not be deleted, or an applicant denied registration, solely because their name cannot be linked to an earlier electoral roll when applicable constitutional requirements are otherwise satisfied.
Sidhu also called for resolutions of the Commission, including any dissenting views, to be made public.
ECI Says Decisions Were Unanimous
The Election Commission has separately rejected the suggestion that the reported objections amounted to a split in its final decision-making.
According to ECI officials cited by Babushahi, all decisions of the Commission, including those concerning the SIR exercise, were taken unanimously with the approval of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and both Election Commissioners.
The clarification came after reports that Sandhu and Joshi had raised concerns over several aspects of electoral-roll management. The ECI’s position was that such concerns did not change the final decisions of the Commission.
Sidhu has now urged the two Election Commissioners to place their positions before the full Commission and make the outcome of the deliberations public.
