Election Commission Controversy: Who authorised the modified Form 6? | In Focus Podcast

The big Election Commission of India (ECI) story that made headlines this week is the Form 6 controversy. Who authorised the modifications to Form 6, which is used for enrolling new voters?

The Election Commission has been claiming all along that the changes had the Supreme court’s approval. But on October 5th, the Supreme Court clarified that it had not approved any Form 6 modifications. Does this mean the Election Commission had mislead the nation, as is being claimed by the Opposition parties?

Also, two out of the three election commissioners had objected to these changes, with one of them calling it “unauthorised and illegal”. Does the CEC have the power to override their objections?

So, who authorised the Form 6 modifications? What happened to the written objections of the other two Election Commissioners? Given that a great many eligible voters were affected by these changes, should the entire SIR be annulled?

Guest: Vipul Mudgal, a Trustee of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Director of Common Cause, non-profits working for electoral reform

Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Producer and editor: Jude Weston

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