ECI SIR controversy: Why did UP order scrutiny of Form 6, 7 and 8 entered since April 10? What voters should know

Uttar Pradesh Chief Election Officer (CEO) Navdeep Rinwa reportedly ordered scrutiny of all voter forms (Forms 6, 7, and 8) entered by computer assistants since April 10. The exercise will be done in all 403 Uttar Pradesh assembly constituencies.

The decision comes as the Election Commission ramps up efforts to avoid the exclusion of any eligible voter from the final electoral roll, following allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

An official statement issued on Sunday evening (October 24) stated that UP CEO Rinwa directed that all Forms 6, 7 and 8 entered by computer assistants since the conclusion of the SIR on April 10 be scrutinised, news agency PTI reported.

Correction of the irregular Form-8 entries in accordance with prescribed norms is also underway, the statement said.

Form 6 is used for inclusion of names in electoral rolls, Form 7 for objections to inclusion or deletion of names, and Form 8 for corrections and other changes to electoral entries.

Why did the UP CEO order scrutiny of voter forms?

The action was taken to prevent a recurrence of incidents such as the one reported in Pilibhit. A controversy emerged after complaints that some Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers displayed details belonging to other voters.

On October 21, the Uttar Pradesh Congress alleged large-scale manipulation of electoral rolls in Pilibhit Sadar Assembly constituency, claiming that names of 13,150 voters were changed while their EPIC and serial numbers remained the same.

The Samajwadi Party also raised similar concerns.

UP CEO Navdeep Rinwa's office said in a statement on Thursday that “irregularities” had been found in 10,470 entries in the electoral roll of Pilibhit Assembly constituency.

According to PTI, he said a detailed inquiry found that a computer assistant at the Voter Registration Centre entered 13,779 Form-8 applications for changes in voter details between May 31 and August 29, 2026.

Of these, 10,470 were approved, and 3,309 were rejected. No application forms or supporting records related to these entries were found available in the office, the statement said.

Following this, the Uttar Pradesh election authorities ordered legal action against two serving and former electoral registration officers and the dismissal of a computer assistant, officials told PTI on Thursday.

UP CEO warns action against officials over 'irregularities'

The UP Chief Election Officer issued directions during a virtual meeting with divisional commissioners, district election officers, electoral registration officers (EROs), assistant electoral registration officers and computer assistants on Saturday.

The meeting was held ahead of preparations for the Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls, according to an official statement.

Here's what he said:

1. Review all pending Forms 6, 7 and 8 daily: Electoral registration officers (EROs) were instructed to review all pending Forms 6, 7 and 8 daily and ensure their prompt disposal in accordance with rules. Physical applications must also be preserved securely.

2. Timely and quality disposal of all complaints: He directed EROs to ensure timely and quality disposal of all complaints received since April 10 through the National Grievance Service Portal (NGSP), the Public Grievance Redressal System (PGRS), social media and other channels.

3. Computer assistants must not enter applications: Rinwa ordered that computer assistants must not be assigned the task of entering applications received in physical form. "All such forms must be digitised by booth-level officers (BLOs) through the BLO App," he was quoted by PTI as saying.

4. Accountability: The CEO warned that EROs, assistant electoral registration officers and computer assistants would be held accountable for such irregularities, with action under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

"District election officers would also be held responsible for lax supervision," the statement said, as per PTI.

5. Intensive monitoring: Divisional commissioners, designated as roll observers, were directed to intensively monitor electoral roll-related work in their respective districts. Negligence in supervision would invite action against the officials concerned.

6. Study Section 32 of RP Act: The CEO asked officials to study Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, which deals with breaches of official duty in connection with the preparation, revision and correction of electoral rolls.

7. No error must be repeated: He also directed them to ensure that errors identified during investigations into complaints received from political parties and through social media were not repeated.

8. Don't share ERONET login IDs and passwords: Officials were instructed not to share their ERONET login IDs and passwords with anyone and to change their passwords immediately in accordance with the prescribed password policy.

9. Remove duplicate entries: The meeting also reviewed complaints concerning duplicate voters circulated on social media, according to the statement.

He directed officials to take timely steps to remove all duplicate entries from electoral rolls to ensure that the draft rolls published during the forthcoming SSR did not contain duplicate entries.

Rinwa expressed displeasure over district election officers in Bulandshahr, Sitapur, Ghaziabad and Aligarh failing to submit reports on the complaints in time and directed them to send the reports promptly.

10. Pendency: Officials were also asked to ensure that no call request received under the 'Book a Call With BLO' facility on the ECINET app and the Election Commission's voters.eci.gov.in portal remained pending for more than 48 hours.

"Action would be taken if BLOs marked citizens as 'Unavailable' without attempting to contact them or failed to respond to call requests within the stipulated time," the statement said.

11. Complaints against BLOs: Reviewing complaints from the special campaign day held on October 24, the CEO sought reports on BLOs who arrived late or remained absent from polling stations. He warned that recurrence of such complaints during special campaign days in the upcoming SSR would not be tolerated.

SIR vs SSR: What is Election Commission's new voter list ‘summary revision’?

The Election Commission announced the full schedule for the annual Special Summary Revision (SSR), giving voters a chance to get their names included in the voters' list.

The SSR is an annual exercise done by the EC to update the electoral roll. The Election Commission said The SSR is being conducted to ensure that no eligible citizen is left out and no ineligible person gets included or remains in the Electoral Roll.

Changes in UP’s Electoral Roll

Uttar Pradesh's electoral roll declined from 15.44 crore voters in the list published on October 27, 2025, to 13.39 crore in the final roll published on April 10 following the SIR, the Hindustan Times reported.