The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on petitions filed by Opposition leaders challenging the large-scale deletions during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, Bar and Bench reported.

The court also issued notice to the Union government and the Delhi Police on a separate petition challenging the de-notification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, The Indian Express reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi clubbed the Opposition’s pleas with petitions already pending before the court challenging the validity of the voter roll revision.

The court said that it will ask one of the petitioners, an Opposition leader, to explain his conduct, Bar and Bench reported. However, the bench did not elaborate on which petitioner it was referring to.

“The notice on behalf of one of the petitioners will be entertained on a provisional basis, subject to his explaining his conduct,” the court was quoted as saying.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders had on Monday moved the court challenging the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, seeking an independent audit of voter deletions, disclosure of the poll panel’s internal records and an interim suspension of the exercise.

The petition was filed after the leaders’ request for a meeting with Kant to submit a memorandum on the voter roll revision and the functioning of the Election Commission was declined.

Kant had said at the time that similar matters were already pending before the Supreme Court and that the leaders were free to approach the court through the judicial process.

Besides Gandhi and Kharge, the other listed petitioners are Saugata Roy of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress faction, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

The petitions were filed amid protests in Delhi by the Opposition parties, student groups and the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign to demand Kumar’s resignation over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the voter roll revision.

Protests against Kumar have been held in the national capital and other parts of the country since October 2.

The trigger for this round of protests and the petition was a September 23 investigation by The Indian Express, which revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.

Pleas against Jantar Mantar denotification

Amid the protests, the Delhi Police on Sunday denotified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site in the national capital, based on recommendations from a committee constituted by the Union home ministry. The police order was reported on Monday.

The police on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that the decision was made following a Supreme Court order on Friday, which prompted the authorities to consider better-equipped alternative venues where residents could exercise their democratic rights without compromising public safety, Hindustan Times reported.

The High Court was hearing a petition against the police’s refusal to grant permission for a protest at Jantar Mantar.

The police have designated three alternative venues for protests: Ramlila Ground in central Delhi, Burari Ground in northern Delhi and CBD Ground in eastern Delhi’s Shahdara area.

Edited by Sara Varghese.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Ministry of External Affairs to issue a public notice inviting families of Indians who have died while fighting as part of the Russian military in the Ukraine war to claim compensation from Moscow, Live Law reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed New Delhi to assist the affected families in securing compensation from the Russian authorities. The court also asked the ministry to place on record the compensation amounts determined by Moscow and the money actually disbursed to the families.

The bench noted that only six families had sought compensation despite 51 reported deaths. It also noted that the ministry was contacting the families individually to collect documents required to process the claims.

The order was passed on a petition filed by the family members of 26 Indians who had been recruited by the Russian military after they travelled to the country looking for work. The petitioners alleged that the men had been trafficked and deceived into fighting in the conflict.

On Monday, the ministry told the court that 267 Indians had joined the Russian military since the war began. While 139 of them had been discharged, 51 had been killed.

The whereabouts of the remaining 77 persons was unknown. This included seven who the Russian authorities say are missing.

Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

The external affairs ministry has repeatedly issued advisories warning Indian citizens against joining the Russian military. New Delhi contends that many are duped by unscrupulous agents and are often hired as support staff, such as cooks and helpers, amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Edited by Sara Varghese.

The Mumbai Police has directed actor Imran Khan to leave India by October 28 after he joined a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, ANI reported on Thursday.

The police issued a Leave India Notice after Khan had taken part in the agitation at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai on Saturday “despite not being an Indian citizen”, the news agency reported.

A Leave India Notice is a directive issued by the authorities requiring a foreign citizen to exit the country within a specified time period. Failing to comply with the order could lead to detention, deportation or blacklisting.

Khan is a citizen of the United States and holds an Overseas Citizen of India card, Hindustan Times reported.

Overseas Citizen of India is an immigration status that allows foreign citizens of Indian origin to live and work in India indefinitely.

The police have initiated action against him under the Immigration Act, the newspaper reported.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya welcomed the action by Mumbai Police. “All such foreign citizens, persons using foreign fund to create anarchy in India should face such action,” he said.

Before the notice was issued, Somaiya had written to the Mumbai Police seeking an inquiry into Khan’s participation in the protest.

Khan had been detained during the protest on Saturday.

Speaking at the protest, the actor had said that he was attending in his capacity as a resident of Mumbai and was not affiliated with any organisation, the Hindustan Times reported.

“I am here as a citizen, as a person who lives in this city,” he had said. “I am here to see why freedom of movement is being restricted. Why are people’s voices being suppressed?”

Protests are being held in several parts of the country calling for Kumar to resign over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision exercise.

The trigger for this round of protests was a September 23 investigation by The Indian Express, which revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.

A contentious exercise

Since the exercise began in June 2025, it has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the exercise, but said that it does not mean that the Election Commission can decide on whether the person is an Indian citizen.

Despite this, BJP-ruled states have cited the SIR to deny ration cards to those who have been eliminated from the rolls. In some cases, the police have denied permission for their passports to be renewed.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

On October 10, Anna Oommen, a 28-year-old advocate in the Supreme Court, stood on a road outside the Supreme Court with dozens of lawyers, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

As they marched towards Mandi House, past heavy barricades, they were halted by the police near a gate of the Supreme Court. “By the third barricade, my hair was being pulled by a woman police officer,” Oommen told Scroll. “They pulled my neck and collar, my kurti was pulled. I was pushed with such force that I experienced difficulty in breathing and was left gasping for air for several minutes.”

Anne Mathew, another advocate who was part of the protest, saw Oommen struggle to breathe and ran to help her. But four to five female police personnel pushed both into a bus. “We were physically lifted, pushed and dragged into the bus,” Mathew said. “Anna was dealt with especially roughly.”

For about 30 minutes, they were confined in the stationary bus, with its windows shut. When the bus finally started moving, they were not told about where they were taken. Their requests for drinking water were denied.

“We usually tell detainees that they should know their rights – the police should give you a detention memo, they are supposed to inform you where you are being taken, give you water,” Mathew said. “None of this was done. We are officers of the court. Imagine the level of authoritarianism if this is happening to us.”

She added: “We were lawyers, but we were treated like criminals.”

The group of 20-odd lawyers were eventually driven to the Yamuna Sports Complex, 11 km from the court complex, and detained for three hours. They were released following interventions by Supreme Court bar bodies.

According to Oommen, about 100 lawyers, five of them senior advocates in the Supreme Court, were detained on Saturday as the Narendra Modi government cracked down on protests called by the Cockroach Janta Party and Left student groups against the alleged rigging of the electoral system.

Later in the day, videos emerged of senior Supreme Court advocate Shaadan Farasat being dragged on the streets and violently detained, even though he was not taking part in the protests.

Oommen and Mathew, two other advocates and the Lawyers’ Association for Constitution moved the Supreme Court on October 12 against the police action, demanding an independent inquiry and action against the police personnel.

But, in a sign of a growing distance between the bench and a section of the bar, neither Oomen and Mathew, nor other detained lawyers Scroll spoke to said they have hope of the court taking any action against the police or the Centre. “We know that the Supreme Court is not going to do anything. Justice is a very far-fetched term for the court now,” said Oommen.

Shirt torn, thrown into bus

On the afternoon of October 10, senior advocate Shadan Farasat was driving back from a seminar when he stopped at a flyover where Left student leader Neha Bora had just been detained.

He got out of the car and watched another group of protestors surround the bus Bora was in. “They managed to whisk Bora away and then immediately started grabbing whoever was standing there,” Farasat told Scroll.

In the melee, police officials also grabbed Farasat, still in his lawyer’s coat. “They tore my shirt and pulled me by my shirt and then threw me in that moving bus,” he said.

Farasat alleged that the Delhi Police “was not functioning as a police force which is bound by law, it is functioning like the private army of our ruling party at the Centre.”

He is a senior advocate of Supreme Court - taken away by #DelhiPolice like this as surprise protest erupts. Location south delhi flyover. Several detained pic.twitter.com/UTeS9AoDwU

— Tamal Saha (@Tamal0401) October 10, 2026

Mentions in court

The action against the lawyers triggered a wave of outrage and condemnation by bar associations across the country.

The members of the Supreme Court Bar Association Executive Committee wore a white ribbon pinned to their coats on Tuesday to express solidarity with advocates.

The Delhi High Court Bar Association asked its members to wear black ribbons during court appearances on Monday.

The Supreme Court Bar Association moved the Supreme Court, seeking accountability of the officers involved in detaining lawyers, while the Supreme Court Advocates-On-Record Association has sought the court’s intervention in ensuring an independent probe. The Bombay Bar Association passed a resolution expressing “unequivocal outrage” at the incidents of police excesses and detention of peaceful protestors and lawyers in New Delhi and Mumbai and sought an impartial, time-bound inquiry into police conduct.

The action against lawyers has also been mentioned several times before the Supreme Court.

On Sunday, when the Supreme Court held a special hearing to address petitions against mass detentions, KK Venugopal, senior advocate and former Attorney General for India, told the court that a former junior colleague was arbitrarily lifted by the Delhi Police.

"A former junior of mine was lifted and taken away in a police van, and dropped 11 km away. The man [who detained her] had no badge. Multiple violations. She was not informed of anything whatsoever,” he said.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, did not pass any adverse orders against the police, although it directed authorities not to carry out “illegal detentions”.

On Monday, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, too, mentioned how “senior advocates are being physically dragged through the streets, Mr Farasat was dragged through the streets.”

He also appeared to push the court to restrain the police. “The court has repeatedly said that we must cooperate and exercise restraint. I would hope that the court says the same to the police. That has not come from this bench so far. I am hoping that happens.”

‘All cosmetic’

Five days later, however, lawyers pointed out that the Supreme Court has not passed any significant order against the Delhi Police and Centre despite multiple petitions.

Anne Mathew, the 46-year-old advocate-on-record, said she was “deeply disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s “inadequate” response on alleged police excesses against lawyers. She also said she had little hope of any meaningful intervention from the courts.

“My expectations from the present proceedings are limited,” she said. “I am concerned about whether these issues will receive the degree of independent and effective consideration that they warrant.”

Senior Advocate Dinesh Dwivedi, who was detained by the Delhi police on Saturday, when he was simply standing in central Delhi, echoed Matthew. He said he did not “expect too much from the Supreme Court”. “Even if the court passes some precautionary orders, that will neither be enforceable, nor is anyone going to enforce them,” he told Scroll. “So, this is all cosmetic.”

Shashank Singh, an advocate-on-record who was also detained at the Yamuna Sports Complex, said he was disturbed by the silence of the Supreme Court on police excesses. “The bench is not saying anything against the abuse by the police and that is the one thing which is disturbing us,” he told Scroll.

Farasat pointed out that when the state cracks down on legitimate protests, the role of the court “is to facilitate peaceful protest in the city”. “The state does not have a right to prevent protests against itself,” he said. “If the police force is going beyond its constitutional and legal bounds, which it is, then it’s for the court to then call it out and restrict it. That is all. That’s the simple ask.”

The lawyers said their misgivings are not new, and have only grown because of the Supreme Court’s refusal to curb the Election Commission as its Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls ended up disenfranchising lakhs of Indians.

“We have been pointing out again and again the deficiency in the electoral rolls,” Singh said. “But the kind of orders we are getting and the kind of response we are getting from the court, it's very unfortunate.”

He cited Justice Bagchi’s comment during the SIR hearings, suggesting that lakhs of Bengal voters not included in the voter roll could “cast their vote next year. “Those things perturbed us a lot and that is why we hit the streets and demanded the resignation of the election commissioner.”

Other lawyers said they were concerned by the convergence of views of the executive and the judiciary on several issues.

Mathew pointed out that the Delhi Police’s statement that it had denotified Jantar Mantar as a place of protest on the Supreme Court’s intervention was worrying. “It is important that the independence of institutions is not merely maintained in substance, but is also seen to be maintained,” she said.

The Supreme Court will hear Oommen and Mathew’s petition on Thursday.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday made absolute the interim protection from coercive action granted to journalist Abhishek Upadhyay in a road rage case and any subsequent first information reports, The Hindu reported.

The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also quashed a notice issued by the Uttar Pradesh Police to social media platform X that sought data pertaining to Upadhyay’s account, Live Law reported. The notice had sought data covering a three-month period before the alleged road rage incident.

Upadhyay has claimed that the road rage case was filed to harass him for his reports on the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He was among the first to report on the alleged corruption.

In a petition against the first information report against him, Upadhyay had filed an application challenging the police’s notice to X.

During a hearing on September 7, the counsel for Upadhyay stated that the police’s notice had sought information about the account dating back to June 1, even though the FIR in the road rage case had been filed on August 18.

The lawyer argued that the police were trying to identify Upadhyay’s journalistic sources.

The attorney general representing the Uttar Pradesh government said that there was a medico-legal case report showing injuries that warranted investigation.

Bagchi had at the time asked why a person’s “digital footsteps” were needed in a road rage case.

On Wednesday, the court said that the police’s claim that the data had been sought to find Upadhyay was inconsistent with the contents of the notice, which had sought his details such as login credentials and email ID, and the IP addresses and equipment identity numbers of his devices, Live Law reported.

The bench said that “seizing data of three months prior to the date of alleged incident seems to be an overkill”.

No confidential or personal information can be obtained prior to the date of the incident, the court was quoted as having said. “Even with respect to information post the FIR, cannot be sought unless alternative measures are found to be inadequate,” the bench said.

It ordered that any information received by the police as a result of the notice cannot be used against the journalist.

The court clarified that it was not commenting on the merits of the case.

The FIR against Upadhyay, based on a complaint by a two-wheeler rider, alleged that the journalist hit his vehicle from behind and then threatened and abused him. It invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.

On August 25, the Supreme Court granted Upadhyay protection from arrest in the case.

During the hearing, the journalist had claimed that the road rage allegations were baseless and that the security camera footage from the site would prove this. He also sought preservation of the footage from the area.

Kant, while granting Upadhyay protection from arrest, had verbally remarked that while the court did not know the truth of the matter, it could understand the journalist’s apprehension.

Edited by Sara Varghese.

A surly-looking elderly man sat behind the counter of an empty jewellery store in Delhi’s bustling Karol Bagh on October 11, reading The Sunday Times of India.

“Restrained, detained, contained,” said the front page banner headline of the newspaper, describing the events of the previous day.

The jeweller grumbled and put it more pithily: “Such a nuisance.”

On Saturday, thousands of ordinary citizens had defied the unprecedented security cover in Central Delhi to show up to protest against the chief election commissioner who they believe is rigging voter lists in the ruling party’s favour.

To thwart the protest, the government had cancelled trains, closed down metro stations, and even shuttered markets like Karol Bagh.

The jeweller, who did want to disclose his name, said he was feeling “very frustrated” – it was the start of the festive season, and chaos on the streets was not good for business. “There has been a lot of disturbance and it is not going to be over soon,” he said.

His annoyance with the protestors aside, he was sympathetic to their cause. “There is definitely something fishy about the voting system currently,” he said.

Despite having lived and voted in Delhi all his life, he had received a notice during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls – the controversial exercise that had struck 13 crore names off voter lists across India.

“When voter cards were given out 20-25 years ago, everything was verified, everything was perfect,” said the jeweller. “Yet they have started this thing to reverify the credentials of voters. This is all absurd.”

The merchant community he belongs to is counted among the staunchest supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party. But when asked if the protests were a sign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was losing ground, the jeweller said: “Of course, this has dented his popularity.”

The protestors were even demanding that the prime minister resign, he said, “because they say he is a vote chor [vote thief], he has done dhandli [manipulation] in the voting system”.

But Modi’s challenge may be bigger than the ongoing protests over alleged electoral rigging. In the national capital, even among those who have only a vague idea of what the street demonstrations are about, support for them runs high.

If anything, the protests may have blown the lid off brewing discontentment with the government, with ordinary people feeling more emboldened to express their grievances. Inflation is the most common complaint. But there is much more that surfaces in discussions that often culminate in voters stating the need for political change, even if there is no clear roadmap for it, with the next general elections two-and-a-half years away.

“It is best to change the government every five years,” said Ram Prasad, a security guard, originally from Bihar. “This one has stayed for over 10 years.”

“Badlaav hone chahiye.” Change is necessary.

At Kashmere Gate metro station, the gateway to Old Delhi, 8 pm is usually rush hour. But on October 10, the station wore a deserted look.

Its entry and exit gates, like those of 44 other stations, had been locked since the previous night – all part of the Delhi Police’s extraordinary measures to scotch the protests. A trickle of passengers were using its interchange facilities to switch from one metro line to another. Not many were interested in fried momos or steamed corn, though, which had left the food kiosks empty and forlorn.

Do you have the time to speak, I asked a man behind one of the kiosks.

“Aaj to time hi time hai, batao,” he said. I have all the time, tell me.

What did he think of the protests, I asked.

“I have no time to follow all this,” he said, looking around warily.

But you just told me you have all the time, I replied.

At this, he smiled.

“Look, they [the protestors] would not have shown up for no reason,” he said, cautiously. “They must have something to say, that is why they have come.”

The government should listen to them, he said. “You have come to me, I am listening to you. And you are listening to me. It is only through conversation that a solution can be found.”

The food vendor’s name was Rajendra Prasad. He was in his mid-forties. Originally from the hills of Uttarakhand, he said he was not loyal to any party. His vote alternated between the Congress and the BJP – “we give it to whoever is winning.”

The BJP had won the last two Assembly elections. With elections in Uttarakhand due soon, Prasad was unwilling to disclose his voting preference. His response was cryptic: “Let’s see, change is usually the best.”

The conversation was interrupted as a group of young college-goers came over to buy a packet of potato chips.

As they left, Prasad said, “It is people of this age who are protesting. They do not like Modi.”

“Age ho gayi hai,” he reasoned. Modi has grown old.

“Ab dosra hi aayega jo aayega.” Now someone else will come.

“Teen baar se zyada koi kya jeetega.” How can anyone win more than three times?

At a kiosk further down, the young vendor was more emphatic in his disavowal of Modi – and his support for the protests.

“Sarkar kuch galti kar rahi hai tabhi to public uske upar chadh rahi hain na,” he said. The government is making mistakes, that is why the public is taking it to task.

What were these mistakes, I asked.

“The price of everything is going up,” he said. “Onions are so expensive at Rs 80. Sugar which used to cost Rs 50, now costs Rs 70.”

With inflation steadily rising over the past six months, similar complaints echoed even among business-owners and managers in Karol Bagh.

A soft-spoken entrepreneur running a mid-sized fabrics business railed against the government forcing vehicle owners like him to use petrol blended with ethanol, a bio-fuel produced using sugar molasses and grains.

“They claimed it would save fuel costs,” said Praveen Kumar, 57. “But the price of petrol did not come down. Instead the price of sugar rose.”

Referring to the BJP’s campaign in the run-up to the 2014 election, he added: “They used to allege that Congress was looting us by raising petrol prices to Rs 65. But now the price has crossed Rs 100.”

Even cooking gas, which used to cost Rs 400, is now at Rs 1,000, he added.

As examples of economic mismanagement under Modi, Kumar brought up demonetisation, the 2016 move that left 86% of currency notes worthless overnight, and GST – the goods and services tax introduced to streamline indirect taxes.

The BJP had won elections despite this, he said, because of its loud advocacy for Hindus. “Muslims rued that their mosque was demolished but we, Hindus, exulted that our temple had been built.”

“They managed to ensnare people in these issues, but now this is changing,” he said.

Back in Kashmere Gate, the young man, Satish Kumar, a migrant from Bihar’s Jamui, spoke about farm distress. “The crop has been destroyed this year.”

Food prices were rising but farmers were not the beneficiaries, he said. “The farmer sells wheat for Rs 20 for a kilo. When he buys it, he has to pay at least Rs 32.”

His companion, Mohit Paswan, also from Bihar, from Nalanda district, said: “Modi has ruined everything.”

“Our elders voted for him because they trusted him,” he continued. “But only Adani and Ambani have flourished under him. Uske baap hain. They are his bosses.”

If that was the case, then how did the BJP win Bihar elections? “Through vote chori,” he said – by stealing votes.

At a nearby food stall, two young men from Uttar Pradesh harboured similar views. “Agar ballot paper se chunaav hue to rahenge nahi,” said one of them, from Etawah district. If elections are held using ballots and not machines, the BJP will be wiped out.

Uttar Pradesh, India’s most politically significant state which has been under BJP rule for 10 years, goes to polls early next year – a high-stakes battle since the results will shape national perceptions of Modi’s grip on power.

Both the young men were Dalit. The second man, from Loni district, who did not want to be identified by name, said he had always voted for the Bahujan Samaj Party, no matter how it stood to perform. But he conceded that a section of Dalit voters had gravitated towards the BJP in recent elections.

His friend from Etawah put it down to: “Sarkari galla bant raha tha, laalach mein aa gaye.” The government was distributing free grains, and people got greedy. Ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls in UP, the Modi government had extended its free food rations scheme introduced during the coronavirus pandemic – only to end it months later.

“The public has now wisened up,” he said.

But in Uttar Pradesh’s fractious, multipolar politics, it was not clear who was benefitting from the disenchantment with the BJP.

The Samajwadi Party, seen as the BJP’s principal challenger, is still seen as primarily a Yadav outfit. As part of its outreach to other communities, it has crafted an acronym PDA that stands for pichhda, Dalit, alpasankhyak – backward, Dalit and minorities.

But the young man from Etawah, where Dalits have a long history of being oppressed by Yadavs, dismissed the PDA outreach as hollow. The Yadavs “are now bending because they want to form the government”, he said.

As for the Congress, he noted, “uska patta khatam hain” – it has no cards left to play in Uttar Pradesh.

Even Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party is now facing a challenge from Chandrashekhar Azad’s Bhim Army, a relatively new outfit that has acquired a following among young Dalits.

The split in the Opposition ranks in Uttar Pradesh and nationally is what BJP supporters are counting on to ride out growing public disaffection.

In Karol Bagh, Ramesh Astha, the owner of a jewellery store, a self-professed supporter of the BJP, smugly argued: “They cannot dislodge Modi since they have no common leader.”

He also trotted out another familiar argument: “Even if the Opposition unites in order to remove Modi, who among them is capable of running the government?”

On October 12, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led a protest march to the Supreme Court that drew tens of thousands of participants, most of them party workers, but with a noticeable presence of ordinary citizens.

For two days, Delhi Police had brutally disrupted flash protests led by student groups and social activists, bundling protestors, even journalists, into buses and driving them to detention centres, some of them outside city limits. Many protestors accused the police of beating them up and snatching their phones.

But on October 12, the sheer size of the gathering mobilised by the Congress and its INDIA alliance partners made the police step back.

About 15 km away, in Khirki village, the news of the Opposition march was slow to filter in. An urban village near Saket in South Delhi, Khirki is home to Jats and Chauhan Rajputs, who now rent out homes to migrants.

Rameshwar Satpute, an architect from Pune on a temporary assignment in Delhi, stood at the entrance of his rented house waiting to collect his dinner tiffin box. He hadn’t seen visuals of the Congress protest march, he said, but he had heard it was massive.

“For 10-15 years, they called him pappu,” he said, speaking of the BJP’s derisive campaign targeting Rahul Gandhi. “But it is no longer working. People can see Rahul Gandhi is smart. He has good upbringing.”

Satpute said he had voted for the BJP in 2014 and 2019, but had seen through its divisive agenda in 2024.

“If you need to progress as a country, you need to take everyone along,” he said. “Ram apne ghar mein hain. Aur Muslim apne ghar mein khaata hain.” Devotion to Ram is a private matter, so is the food that Muslims eat.

A Muslim fruit seller was similarly aware of the protests that were taking place. He said joblessness was so high that people did not have money to buy fruit. “The only people prospering are those connected with the BJP,” he said. Turning Modi’s slogan on its head, he said, “Khaata bhi hai khilaata bhi hai apno ko.”

Further inside the village, an elderly Jat woman, Angoori Devi, sat on a bench. She had no idea what people were protesting about, but said she was happy they were protesting. “Modi ne hadd kar rakhi hai, beti,” she said. Modi has crossed all limits. “Milk, vegetables, sugar, everything is so expensive. What will people eat?”

Then, pointing to her leg, which bore faint stitch marks, she said, “My family had to spend Rs 20 lakh after I broke my leg.” The Modi government’s insurance programme, Ayushman Bharat, which promises a health cover of Rs 5 lakh for all senior citizens, proved to be of no use, she claimed. “My son had to borrow money for my treatment.”

It was not just the skyrocketing cost of private healthcare, as the Jantar Mantar protests had highlighted in the summer, there is considerable public anger over growing educational inequality.

“The children of the big people are studying in expensive private institutions, while the poor have no option but to fall back on government schools, and even those are being closed down,” said Ram Prasad, a security guard who was just starting his night shift in Khirki.

In the past decade, over 90,000 government schools have been shut as part of the government’s policy to consolidate and merge schools. The policy had affected lakhs of students, with many forced to drop out.

Expressing his support for the protests, Prasad, from Champaran, Bihar, listed a litany of complaints against the Modi government. “The BJP came up with a slogan: ‘desh bachao, beti bachao.’ Protect the country, protect your daughters. But what is happening? Neither are daughters safe, nor is the country on the right track.”

“Railway bech diya, LIC bech diya,” he said, bringing up the growing privatisation of the Indian Railways and the Life Insurance Corporation of India.

“We will now know in 2029 who will form the next government,” he said. “Change is necessary.”

The parents of Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered in 2022, and Congress MPs were detained by security personnel on Thursday during their sit-in protest at Delhi’s India Gate.

The protest began after Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam was named as the next governor of Sikkim on Monday.

Bhandari’s family and activists have alleged that Gautam is the alleged VIP linked to the murder case. They were demanding that the BJP leader not be allowed to assume his new post until the allegations against him are investigated.

The parents were released less than two hours after they were detained, ANI reported.

They were detained hours after Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with several Congress MPs, had joined the protest on Wednesday. The Congress leaders and party workers had remained at the site after Gandhi and Vadra left.

At 3.45 a.m. Delhi Police along with CRPF detained parents of Ankita Bhandari and Congress MPs from India Gate.#justiceforankitabhandari pic.twitter.com/KvA66WWY9S

— Jothimani (@jothims) October 14, 2026

The murder case

Bhandari worked as a receptionist at a resort in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh that was owned by Pulkit Arya, the son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya. The 19-year-old went missing on September 18, 2022. A day later, Pulkit Arya, resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and his assistant Ankit Gupta filed a missing person report.

However, they later confessed to killing Bhandari by pushing her into a canal following an altercation. Bhandari’s body was recovered from the Chilla Canal in Rishikesh six days after she had gone missing.

The BJP expelled Vinod Arya and his other son Ankit Arya after the matter came to light.

In May 2025, Pulkit Arya, Bhaskar and Gupta were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Evidence recovered later, such as WhatsApp messages from Bhandari to a friend, seemed to suggest that the men were allegedly trying to force Bhandari into prostitution. It was claimed that she was killed for refusing to provide “special services” to a “VIP”.

In audio and video clips made public later, former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore had allegedly identified Gautam, a BJP national general secretary at the time, as the VIP in question. However, Rathore denied releasing the audio or video clips, or making any remarks against senior party leaders.

The police’s special investigation team had earlier stated that it found no evidence establishing the involvement of an influential leader in the murder, The Indian Express reported.

Gautam, who was in charge of the BJP’s Uttarakhand unit, has denied the allegations.

He had filed a defamation petition in the Delhi High Court against the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and others for social media posts linking him to the Bhandari murder case. The court directed the Congress and the AAP to remove the posts linking Gautam to the case.

In January, following demands from the Opposition, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that the state government had recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the allegations.

In June, Rathore was arrested for allegedly making statements linking Gautam to the murder case.

चार साल से अंकिता भंडारी के परिवार को इंसाफ नहीं मिला, लेकिन एक ‘VIP’ आरोपी को संरक्षण और संवैधानिक पद का इनाम ज़रूर मिला।

जहां बलात्कारियों और हत्यारों का फूल-मालाओं से स्वागत होता है और अपराधियों को सत्ता की ताकत से नवाज़ा जाता है - उस महिला-विरोधी BJP से कोई उम्मीद की भी नहीं… pic.twitter.com/RksgdL2DUR

— Uttarakhand Congress (@INCUttarakhand) October 14, 2026

Parents’ protest

On Wednesday, Bhandari’s father said that Gautam “should be behind bars” and requested President Droupadi Murmu not to appoint the BJP leader as Sikkim’s governor until the CBI investigation concludes, ANI reported.

The father also said that he wanted the CBI investigation to focus on the alleged VIP angle and not repeat the probe into the roles of persons who had already been convicted.

After meeting Bhandari’s parents, Gandhi said that the family had not received justice for four years, but an alleged VIP had been “rewarded with protection and a constitutional position”.

The Congress had on Tuesday announced protests against the appointment of Gautam.

Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Sara Varghese.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat, who had been accused by a journalist of sexual harassment during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on October 3 in Delhi, has alleged that she had made casteist remarks about him, reported PTI on Wednesday.

The Delhi Police has registered a first information report against the journalist based on Bhagat’s complaint, reported ANI.

A woman journalist had alleged that Bhagat groped her while she was making a video of student leader Neha Bora being detained during protests demanding the resignation of Kumar.

She said that she had gone to the Parliament Street police station to file a complaint, but no action was taken.

An unidentified police official was quoted as saying by The Hindu on October 6 that registering cases against police personnel for actions taken while performing law and order duties could “deter them from working”.

Another unidentified police official told the newspaper on October 4 that there was no evidence to substantiate the journalist’s allegation.

In his complaint, Bhagat, who is a member of a scheduled caste community, alleged that the journalist had made derogatory remarks about his caste group and asked how he had become the assistant commissioner of police, reported The Print.

He claimed he and a constable had heard her make the remarks while he was performing his duty during the protest.

Bhagat further claimed that later that evening, the journalist and her colleagues staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station and described him as a “sexual predator” and “potential rapist”, reported The Print.

The police officer said that the alleged casteist remarks and accusations of sexual harassment against him had caused him mental distress and damaged his reputation, reported PTI.

The FIR also mentioned that the complaint against him had been transferred to the Delhi Crime Branch.

The journalist who accused Bhagat of sexual harassment was among the three women journalists who alleged that they were sexually harassed by police officers while covering the protests at Jantar Mantar.

On October 4, the Delhi Police said that the allegations of sexual harassment had been received “in context of the emergent law and order situation” a day earlier.

The police had also arrested a person for allegedly creating and circulating an artificial intelligence-generated poster depicting Bhagat sexually assaulting a woman.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would not accept “lame excuses” from the Election Commission after the poll panel claimed that it was unable to trace the video recording of the counting of votes for the 2023 Assembly elections, reported Bar and Bench.

“How can the Election Commission of India say that it has lost its record?” said a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva while hearing an election dispute between Congress leader TD Rajegowda and Bharatiya Janata Party’s DN Jeevaraj.

Rajegowda had won the Assembly elections from the Sringeri constituency in 2023 by a margin of 201 votes.

Jeevraj had moved the Karnataka High Court against Rajegowda’s victory. On April 6, the High Court ordered to re-count the votes, including verification of 279 postal ballots that had been rejected, reported The New Indian Express.

After the votes were counted again, Jeevaraj’s tally increased to 690, while Rajegowda’s dropped to 314, which marked a reduction of 255 votes, reported The Indian Express. Jeevaraj was declared the winner by 52 votes.

Rajegowda had moved the Supreme Court against the declaration.

On May 11, the court directed that he will remain the MLA from Sringeri till a judgement is reached on his appeal.

The court said on Wednesday that it would direct the Election Commission to produce the election observer’s report, video recordings of the original vote counting and the re-counting, reported Bar and Bench.

In response, the poll panel said that it was unable to trace the video of 2023.

“Your whole purpose is to hold an election, and you need to have a document,” said the bench. “Where is the question of you saying, ‘Yeah, we are trying to trace it’?”

It added: “Whatever you have, produce it on the next date. Otherwise, we will have to draw an adverse inference against you. We will not accept these kinds of lame excuses.”

The court’s statements came in the wake of nationwide protests to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The Opposition condemned the arrest of Cockroach Janta Party leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde for trespassing on Jantar Mantar. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said that “waving the tricolour” at Jantar Mantar during a peaceful protest “is not a crime” and jailing young persons for it is an “act of cowardice”.

Ranka and Das have been sent to judicial custody for five days by a magistrate court, while Shinde was released on a personal bond.

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee said that the Union government was “arresting Indians for unfurling and waving the tricolour in their own country” and wrongfully constituting the act as a “breach of peace”. Read on.

Delhi Police arrested thousands far away from Jantar Mantar. Was this legal, explains Anant Gupta

The Indian government said that it would sell 60.7% stake in IDBI Bank for Rs 52,878 crore to Canadian financial holding company Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. The divestment would bring the “largest foreign direct investment in the financial sector of our economy so far”, said the Union Ministry of Finance.

The decision was taken in view of the repeated infusion of capital, initially provided by the Union government and later by Life Insurance Corporation. After the transaction is complete, the Centre will be left with a shareholding of 15% of the bank and LIC will have 19%. Read on.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s decision not to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi last month was “immature” and did not serve the country’s national interest, former PM Sheikh Hasina told PTI. She said it was “deeply unfortunate” if her presence in India was the reason behind the prime minister not attending the event.

On September 10, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said that Dhaka would not send a government representative to the BRICS Summit as Rahman was “not invited” to the meeting. However, Bangladesh had received two invitations from India. Read on.

A Saudi court overturned the death sentence of a Sri Lankan migrant worker who had been convicted of blasphemy in September for a Facebook comment, said Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra. Anojan Sivarasa had been sentenced to death by a Saudi appellate court for an allegedly derogatory comment he had made about Islam and Prophet Muhammad.

The case had spurred diplomatic efforts by Sri Lanka to seek clemency for Sivarasa. Read on.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our Daily Brief newsletter.

The metro services in Delhi were “fully operational” on Saturday and reduction in ridership may be because of the protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar which prompted a large number of commuters to refrain from travelling, the Live Law quoted the metro authority as telling the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said that nearly 32 lakh passengers travelled in the trains that day, compared with around 58 lakh on a normal second Saturday.

On Friday, the Supreme Court barred the authorities in Delhi from imposing a complete closure of metro services in the national capital.

The order came on petitions filed in the Supreme Court challenging the proposed closure of 57 metro stations and other restrictions.

On Sunday, a bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard petitions challenging the detention of protesters and restrictions on public transport during Saturday’s demonstrations. The bench said that it had taken note of the alleged violations of its earlier order.

It directed the authorities to submit a short affidavit explaining why contempt proceedings should not be initiated.

On Wednesday, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation submitted that while there was no reduction in the number of train trips, entry and exit were restricted at 45 of the 303 metro stations on directions of the Delhi Police.

It also said that the restrictions at 45 stations were lifted at 10 pm on Saturday, following directions from the police.

Protests against Kumar

Protests are being held in several parts of the country calling for Kumar to resign over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision exercise.

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read:

• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar
• ‘Citizens being silenced’: What ordinary Indians think of the crackdown on the Delhi protests

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s decision not to attend the BRICS summit in New Delhi last month was “immature” and did not serve the country’s national interest, former PM Sheikh Hasina told PTI in an interview on Wednesday.

Hasina, who has been in Delhi since the collapse of her government in August 2024 following massive student-led protests, said that it was “deeply unfortunate” if her presence was the reason behind Rahman skipping the summit. She added that “short-term political calculations are inherently counterproductive”.

“Relations between two countries cannot be determined by personal considerations or political sensitivities involving one individual,” she told PTI.

On September 10, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir had said that Dhaka would not send a government representative to the BRICS Summit as Rahman was “not invited” to the meeting.

However, Bangladesh had received two invitations from India. One from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral visit, while the other for Rahman, in his capacity as chairperson of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation to attend the BRICS summit which was held on September 12 and 13.

Bangladesh assumed the chairmanship of BIMSTEC in April 2025 for a two-year term. The regional grouping comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The BRICS grouping comprises India, Brazil, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

On Wednesday, Hasina said that Bangladesh could have gained valuable experience and opened new opportunities for its own economic and social development had it participated in the summit.

Hasina also said that India was Bangladesh’s “closest neighbour and an important historic partner”.

She said that China was also an important development partner and Bangladesh’s engagement with Beijing or any other country was not the problem, but using the relationship with one nation against another was.

“It begins when anti-India rhetoric is encouraged for domestic politics,” the news agency quoted her as saying. “It begins when major decisions are taken without transparency.”

The neighbouring countries have had strained relations since the July 2024 protests against a controversial quota scheme for government jobs and later snowballed into a broader agitation against Hasina’s government.

Hasina told PTI that her return to Bangladesh “is part of the struggle to restore democracy, voting rights and the rule of law”.

She did not comment on when she would return to her country.

In November, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death for crimes against humanity in connection with the deadly crackdown on protesters in 2024.

In February, a court sentenced her to 10 years’ imprisonment in two corruption cases relating to alleged irregularities in the allocation of land in a government housing project in Dhaka.

Dhaka has repeatedly demanded that Hasina be extradited. It has also expressed concerns about the ousted leader being allowed by the Indian authorities to address her supporters from Delhi.

New Delhi has previously said that it was for Hasina to decide whether she wants to return to Bangladesh.

Rahman took office in February and has since visited Malaysia and China, departing from the tradition of Bangladeshi leaders heading to India for their first overseas trip.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

At least 80 infants have died at a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district in the past six months, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

Hospital officials attributed the deaths mainly to premature births and low birth weight, The Indian Express reported. They said 34 infants died between April and June, followed by 46 between July and September.

On Saturday, Dinesh Rai Munmun, a legislator from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, inspected the hospital after receiving reports of infant deaths and called for an investigation.

Rai told The Indian Express that hospital staff initially tried to stop him from entering the premises. He said no doctor was present and that the staff told him an inquiry and audit were under way.

The MLA alleged that 46 infants had died in the past three months due to breathing difficulties.

“The hospital has a ventilator for children who have difficulty breathing, and a doctor is supposed to be appointed for this,” he said. “But the doctor does not remain there at night. The nurses are not trained for this work.”

Civil surgeon Dr Vinod Kumar Navkar said that critically ill infants from rural areas of the district were referred to the special newborn care unit of the hospital.

“Many a times, these babies are born at six, seven or eight months,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying.

He added that the hospital had treated 1,188 newborns over the past six months, more than half of whom had low birth weight.

The World Health Organization defines low birth weight as less than 2.5 kg.

“When a baby is born prematurely and weighs less than this, the mortality rate can be as high as 48%,” Navkar said. Some infants treated at the hospital weighed as little as 1,100 grams, 900 grams and even 500 grams, he added.

Navkar also said that the neonatal mortality rate at the hospital was lower than that of other districts in the Jabalpur division, the newspaper reported.

Rai disputed this assessment, saying the recorded deaths might not reflect the full picture because critically ill newborns were being referred to other hospitals.

Edited by Sara Varghese.

The Opposition on Wednesday condemned the arrest of Cockroach Janta Party leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde by the Delhi Police for trespassing on Jantar Mantar a day earlier.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said that “waving the tricolour” at Jantar Mantar during a peaceful protest “is not a crime” and jailing young persons for it is an “act of cowardice”.

Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India and “we will reclaim it”, he said on social media.

Ranka and Das were sent to judicial custody for five days by a magistrate court. Shinde was released on a personal bond.

They were detained on Tuesday with other members of the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign after they “sneaked into” Jantar Mantar to protest the authorities’ decision to denotify the area as a designated protest site.

The leaders have also been accused of violating a bond and obstructing a public servant from discharging their duties.

Calling out the arrests, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee said that the Union government was “arresting Indians for unfurling and waving the tricolour in their own country” and wrongfully constituting the act as a “breach of peace”.

All India Students’ Association head Neha Bora said that the government was trying to crush dissent through the arrests and “ensure this resistance vanishes”.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh asked if India was under British rule once again. “Modi ji, are you British?,” he asked on social media.

The Rajya Sabha MP said that the BJP “hated the tricolour” because, he alleged, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s headquarters did not hoist the national flag for 52 years.

The RSS is the parent organisation of the BJP.

मोदी जी क्या आप अंग्रेज़ हैं?
क्या भारत में ब्रिटिश राज है?
मुझे मालूम है आप लोग तिरंगे से नफ़रत करते हैं आप लोगों ने “52 साल तक RSS के मुख्यालय पर तिरंगा नही फहराया”
आपने CJP के नेता @AshutoshRanka और @SauravDassss को तिरंगा फहराने और भारत माता की जय लगाने के कारण जेल भेज दिया।… pic.twitter.com/YHRpGQ5Q1L

— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) October 14, 2026

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray said that the fight between the “regime” and “patriotic young Indians” would go on till “we reclaim democracy from this dictatorship!”

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed his solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party leaders, saying that his party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was ready to provide them with legal support.

“The more young people they jail, the more ordinary citizens, with no political affiliation, will take to the streets and show them the true power of the people!,” Stalin said on social media.

Movement at Jantar Mantar

The Cockroach Janta Party, the Opposition parties and student groups are protesting in Delhi to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Protests had also been held in June and July at Jantar Mantar against alleged exam irregularities.

The Cockroach Janta Party had started a sit-in demonstration at Jantar Mantar on June 20, which continued till July 28. The protest resulted in BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan resigning as the Union education minister.

Written by Abeer Khan. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

Also read:

• Delhi Police arrested thousands far away from Jantar Mantar. What this legal?

• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar

• Watch: A generation’s revolt against Modi

Cockroach Janta Party leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde were arrested by the Delhi Police for trespassing on Jantar Mantar.

Ranka and Das were sent to judicial custody for five days by the special executive magistrate court on Wednesday, the political campaign said. Shinde was released on a personal bond.

Ranka, Das, Shinde and several members of the campaign had been detained on Tuesday after they “sneaked into” Jantar Mantar to protest the authorities’ decision to denotify the area as a designated protest site.

The leaders have also been accused of violating a bond and obstructing a public servant from discharging their duties, the campaign’s legal affairs head Ratna Singh said.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that “waving the tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime” and jailing young persons for it is an “act of cowardice”.

Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India and “we will reclaim it”, he said on social media.

On Sunday, a day after Ranka, Das and Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke were detained from inside an aircraft after it landed in Delhi ahead of a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a magistrate court had ordered their release on the condition that they do not breach peace for one year.

Before they were presented before the magistrate court on Wednesday, Singh said that the three leaders “were not allowed to meet their lawyers” till late night on Tuesday.

Singh accused the police of “following orders from above” rather than the law. “They push the law aside and follow that rulebook,” she told IANS.

She said that the protesters had gone to Jantar Mantar “just to hoist the tricolour” but were detained and later “illegally” arrested.

The police said that the arrests were preventive, ANI reported.

After they were sent to judicial custody, Dipke asked whether unfurling the national flag at Jantar Mantar was a “fault”.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needed to “show some guts”.

“If you’re so determined to crush dissent, have the courage to officially declare an Emergency instead of hiding behind these cowardly tactics,” Dipke said on social media.

On Sunday, Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site in the national capital, based on recommendations from a committee constituted by the Union home ministry. The police order was reported on Monday.

The Delhi Police on Tuesday told the High Court that the decision was made following a Supreme Court order on Friday, which prompted the authorities to consider better-equipped alternative venues where residents could exercise their democratic rights without compromising public safety, Hindustan Times reported.

The Delhi High Court was hearing a petition filed by Indian Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib against the police’s refusal to grant permission for a protest at Jantar Mantar.

On Tuesday, Chib’s lawyer urged the court to issue notice on the plea to reconsider its request by undertaking a renewed assessment.

Justice Amit Mahajan issued notice on the plea and listed the matter for further hearing on November 17, the newspaper reported.

The police have designated three alternative venues for protests: Ramlila Ground in central Delhi, Burari Ground in northern Delhi and CBD Ground in eastern Delhi’s Shahdara area.

The police order was issued against the backdrop of protests in the national capital by the Cockroach Janta Party, the Opposition parties and student groups to demand the resignation of Kumar over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Protests had also been held in June and July at Jantar Mantar against alleged exam irregularities.

The Cockroach Janta Party had started a sit-in demonstration at the protest site on June 20, which continued till July 28. The protest resulted in Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dharmendra Pradhan resigning as the Union education minister.

Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Sara Varghese.

Also read:

• Watch: A generation’s revolt against Modi
• ‘Private parts kicked, phones taken away’: Detained Delhi protestors allege assault in police vans
• Delhi Police arrested thousands far away from Jantar Mantar. What this legal?

At least 13 children died after a boat carrying villagers capsized in the Ganga river in Bihar’s Vaishali district on Tuesday evening, The Hindu reported.

The incident occurred in the Raghopur police station area when the passengers were travelling to a nearby village to attend a feast.

Thirteen bodies had been recovered and seven persons had been rescued as of Tuesday night, ANI quoted District Magistrate Varsha Singh as saying.

The rescued passengers were taken to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital in Patna for treatment and were in stable condition, Singh said. All the children aboard the boat were aged 15 or younger, she added.

Some passengers reportedly managed to swim to safety, while residents rushed to help those in the water and alerted the district administration, The Indian Express reported.

District police personnel and a team from the State Disaster Response Force, along with local divers, were deployed for search and rescue operations.

Vaishali, Bihar: SDRF teams continue the search operation using six boats following the Raghopur boat accident. The damaged boat, which had been temporarily repaired with plastic sheets, has been found. SDRF SI Jai Deep Narayan Singh says the rescue operation has been underway… pic.twitter.com/1MYxNP39wO

— IANS (@ians_india) October 14, 2026

When the district magistrate visited the hospital to assess the situation, she was met by angry residents who shouted slogans against the district administration, The Hindu reported.

The administration has said that boat operations at night were restricted and that the circumstances surrounding the accident would be investigated, The Indian Express reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the deaths and announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each child who died. The injured will receive Rs 50,000 each.

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary also announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the family of each person who died.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of spreading lies about the special intensive revision of electoral rolls to cover the Opposition party’s electoral defeats, ANI reported.

His comments came as Opposition parties, student groups and the Cockroach Janta Party continued their protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of the voter roll revision.

Shah said the Congress needed to introspect about its repeated electoral losses rather than blame the revision of electoral rolls.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader argued that the exercise began only after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and could not explain the Congress’ “poor performance” in several states over the years.

“Ever since you became the principal leader of the Congress, and later its president, and now the leader of the Opposition, the Congress party has continuously lost elections,” ANI quoted Shah as saying.

Shah accused Gandhi and his associates of attempting to protect “infiltrators” by opposing the voter roll revision, alleging that the Opposition wanted to get them registered as voters.

The statement came against the backdrop of a crackdown in several BJP-ruled states, where since May 2025, thousands of Bengali-speaking migrant workers have been rounded up and asked to prove that they are Indian citizens and not undocumented immigrants.

In several cases, workers have been declared foreigners within days and forced into Bangladesh, despite being Indian citizens.

“I want to tell Shri Rahul ji and his associates to prepare themselves once again for a crushing defeat in 2029,” Shah said, claiming that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance would win the next general election.

Citing the results of recent bye-elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Shah said that the Congress had failed to win a single seat.

Responding to the Opposition’s allegations of electoral irregularities in connection with the use of electronic voting machines, Shah said that several local body polls had been conducted using ballot papers. He argued that the results showed the BJP could win elections regardless of the voting method and said the Congress should examine the reasons for its losses instead of blaming the voter roll revision or electronic voting machines.

Shah also criticised the Opposition’s march to Supreme Court in Delhi on Monday.

Shah said the gathering of cadres from 14 political parties and a crowd, which he claimed was about 8,000 persons, over a stretch of 1.5 km did not make Gandhi the voice of the nation.

“The trust of the people cannot be earned through manufactured media events and the echo of falsehoods,” he said.

“My request to the Congress party is that the voice of the nation is also in the fields and farms, in the villages, in distant hills, in forests, and along riverbanks,” Shah said. “You have no reach there.”

On Monday, Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and several Opposition leaders led a march towards the Supreme Court, joined by other INDIA bloc leaders, including former Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav. Student leaders such as All India Students’ Association chief Neha Bora also joined the protest.

They filed a petition challenging the Election Commission’s special intensive revision of electoral rolls, seeking an independent audit of voter deletions, disclosure of the poll panel’s internal records and an interim suspension of the exercise.

On Tuesday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh responded to Shah’s remarks by accusing the home minister of using “bombast, bluff and bluster”.

He alleged that Shah had already begun preparing to manipulate the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and said the Opposition would continue to challenge the government.

“The people know that the constitutional right vote is their biggest power to hold authoritarian governments built on lies – like this one – accountable and send them packing,” Ramesh said. “This is why India, especially the youth, is now out on the streets.”

He further alleged that Shah would face investigations into his conduct if the Narendra Modi government lost power.

Follow Scroll’s coverage of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls here.

The trigger for this round of protests and the petition was a September 23 investigation by The Indian Express, which revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.

A contentious exercise

Since the exercise began in June 2025, it has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the exercise, but said that it does not mean that the Election Commission can decide on whether the person is an Indian citizen.

Despite this, BJP-ruled states have cited the SIR to deny ration cards to those who have been eliminated from the rolls. In some cases, the police have denied permission for their passports to be renewed.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

Also read:

• Watch: A generation’s revolt against Modi
• ‘Private parts kicked, phones taken away’: Detained Delhi protestors allege assault in police vans

Adani Group’s flagship firm began the 2022 financial year in a slump but ended it with a 200% jump in profits. Over 70% of the annual turnover of the firm, Adani Enterprises Limited, came from its coal import division. “The business witnessed an astronomical rise in the volumes pertaining to the supplies made to various state or central owned electricity generation companies,” the firm said in its annual report for 2022-’23.

In May 2022, citing domestic coal shortages, India’s power ministry had directed all thermal power producing companies in the country to mandatorily import 10% of their coal needs.

The import mandate coincided with a surge in international coal prices. Between April 2022 and January 2023, international coal prices were 131% higher than the corresponding period in the previous year, according to a report commissioned by the 16th Finance Commission of India, a constitutional body tasked with distributing public funds between states.

Scroll has obtained internal government correspondence on the coal import mandate using Right to Information requests. The documents, previously unreported, reveal that the mandate faced resistance from both state-owned and privately-owned power companies.

State governments like Uttar Pradesh and Telangana said costly coal imports would cripple their finances, while several private power producers cited technical reasons to avoid them.

But the Union power ministry did not budge: it warned the companies that failure to meet coal import targets would result in their domestic coal allocation being cut by 5%.

The largest volume of coal imports were commissioned by the National Thermal Power Corporation. The biggest government-owned company in the sector, it comes under the Union power ministry.

Scroll examined 31 tenders issued by NTPC for the import of 30.16 million tonnes of coal between December 2021 and April 2024. Adani Enterprises bagged 24 of them. The remaining seven went to Adi Tradelink, part of an Ahmedabad-based business group that American investment firm Hindenburg Research alleged had been used to route funds from Adani companies into Adani Power. The Adani Group denied the allegation.

The NTPC contracts guaranteed both the firms a fixed profit margin over and above prevailing coal prices and freight charges. As international coal prices rose, so did the firms’ volume of profits for every shipment.

Increased fuel costs on account of coal imports were eventually borne by ordinary consumers.

Internal government correspondence shows that the Uttar Pradesh energy minister cautioned the Union power ministry that coal imports could raise electricity tariffs by 75 paise-80 paise per unit. In response, the power minister said the increase would not be more than 50 paise-60 paise per unit.

A year later, however, the power minister conceded that the average power purchase cost in 2022-’23 had risen by 71 paise, although he attributed it to an increase in “various costs, including transmission and distribution costs”.

During the same financial year, the coal import business of Adani Enterprises Limited posted Rs 99,486 crore in revenue, a two-fold jump from the previous year.

Scroll sent questions to the Union Ministry of Power, NTPC, the Adani Group and Adi Tradelink. There was no response at the time of publication. The story will be updated if there is a response.

Coal shortage controversy

Most of India’s thermal power is produced using domestically mined coal. Only a small number of thermal stations, typically built near the coast, are designed to use imported coal as their primary fuel. Other power plants blend small quantities of imported coal, which has lower ash content than Indian coal, with the domestic fuel to bring down emissions.

The volume of India’s coal imports saw a sharp decline in 2020 and 2021. In February 2020, India’s coal minister said the country would stop importing coal by 2023.

Government data shows a steadily rising graph for India’s domestic coal production, barring a small dip in 2020. However, for two successive years leading to 2022, there was a noticeable decline in coal despatch – that is, the transport of coal from mines to industries, including power generating stations.

In October 2021, then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal raised the alarm on a possible power crisis in the national capital on account of thermal stations running out of coal. The Union power ministry rejected the allegations – in a press statement, it said there was no coal shortage in the country.

Contrary to its public pronouncements, internal government correspondence accessed by Scroll shows that the power ministry was aware that coal stocks at thermal power stations “were continuously depleting” from July to September 2021, and had touched “extremely critical” levels in October that year.

It attributed the low stocks partly to a disruption in the supply and transport of coal during the monsoon season, and partly to a surge in electricity demand at a time when several thermal stations fuelled by imported coal were closed on account of litigation.

In December 2021, the power ministry issued an advisory to all thermal power producers recommending that they import 4% of their coal needs. Two central government-owned power companies – the NTPC and the Damodar Valley Corporation – however, were directed to mandatorily import 10% of their coal requirements.

Four months later, in April 2022, the directive was broadened to include all power producers, whether state- or private-owned. The power ministry asked them to import 10% of their coal needs before the end of May 2022 “to ensure minimum required coal stocks in power plants before the onset of monsoon”.

Rising coal prices

The import mandate came at a time when international coal prices were extremely high. The International Energy Agency noted that coal witnessed “unprecedented price levels” in 2022. The price of Australian coal, for example, jumped from less than $300 per tonne in April 2022 to over $400 per tonne in May 2022, touching an all-time high of $443 per tonne in September 2023.

In May 2022, the Telangana government highlighted the steep coal prices in a letter to the power ministry. It pointed out that the price difference between domestic coal and imported coal came to Rs 25,000 per tonne. This would impose “an additional burden of Rs 3,750 crore per year towards coal procurement” if its power company was “forced to meet its 10% of coal requirement through imports”, it said.

Even states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party pushed back against the directive.

The Uttar Pradesh government informed the power ministry in May 2022 that its cabinet had refused permission for coal imports. In a meeting held at the power ministry in Delhi later that month, the state’s energy minister said land-locked states like Uttar Pradesh should not be forced to import coal.

The government of Madhya Pradesh said handling coal imports during the monsoon season was “very difficult”, while the Gujarat government suggested that Coal India Limited be assigned the task of importing coal since the state had run into “difficulty in the tendering process”.

Privately owned power stations also wrote to the power ministry asking for waivers. Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd said the boilers of its power plant were not technically compatible with imported coal. Lanco Anpara, which had contracts to sell power to Uttar Pradesh, said the state distribution company had denied it permission to use imported coal since that would increase its purchase costs.

To allay concerns about the raised costs for power generators and distributors, the power ministry issued an order under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, allowing thermal power companies to pass on the incremental cost of importing coal to their consumers.

It also directed Coal India Limited to import coal on behalf of all state- and private-owned thermal producers to ease “procedural difficulties”.

Coal India Limited, India’s publicly owned coal mining giant, admitted publicly that it had “little or no experience in coal imports”. Internal government correspondence shows its officials were reluctant to import coal, and specifically declined to do so for private companies. Even for states, they wanted payments to be made in advance. But the power ministry overruled these objections, asking the central-government firm to import the coal and recover the cost from states later.

By then, however, some states and private companies had already initiated coal import tenders. The power ministry allowed them to continue.

NTPC tenders

For this analysis, we are focusing on coal imports made by the National Thermal Power Corporation, since these were the largest in volume.

Starting December 2021, the NTPC issued 31 tenders for the import of 30.16 million tonnes of coal till April 2024.

In contrast, Coal India Limited issued only three tenders in July 2022 for the import of 8.416 million tonnes of coal – surpassed by the NTPC’s coal tenders amounting to 9.6 million tonnes issued in that month alone.

The winner of an NTPC tender was expected to buy coal overseas, ship it to India, and then transport it to specific power plants by rail. Based on the bid prices submitted by firms, the NTPC calculated the profit margin of each bidder over and above prevailing international coal prices and freight charges. The company with the lowest profit margin was selected as the winner. This margin, calculated as a percentage, was applied to each shipment the company made. If the coal prices rose, the fixed profit margin ensured higher returns for the importer.

For instance, if the company’s bid price was 5% higher than the prevailing coal costs at the time of bidding, then for every Rs 100 worth of imported coal, it earned Rs 5 as profit. If the price rose to Rs 110, its profit went up by 50 paise to Rs 5.5.

All 31 of the NTPC’s tenders went to two recurring winners – Adani Enterprises Limited and an Ahmedabad-based firm, Adi Tradelink. The two companies outbid all other technically qualified bidders in the fray.

The consolidation took place despite the tender design appearing to promote a diverse mix of importers. As per the design, the lowest bidder, called L1, would be awarded 70% of the contract, while the remaining 30% share would be given to second lowest bidder, L2, provided it was willing to match the price quoted by L1. If L2 declined, the offer moved to L3, then L4, and if nobody took it up, L1 got the entire order.

In theory, this gave other technically qualified bidders a shot at winning at least a share of the tenders. In practice, however, it did not work that way.

In 24 of the 31 NTPC tenders, Adani Enterprises Limited emerged as the lowest bidder. However, only in six of these tenders was another company able to claim the 30% share by matching its price. This company, in all six cases, was Adi Tradelink.

The Ahmedabad-based partnership firm also won seven other tenders in which it had bid the lowest. Together, both the firms won contracts to supply 30.16 million tonnes of coal to the NTPC.

Adi Tradelink is part of the Adi Group of companies involved in coal trading and import. A report published by the Financial Times in October 2023, citing a credit rating report, said Adi Tradelink places coal orders on Adani's behalf. In December 2022, credit rating firm CARE had underlined Adi Tradelink’s “established relationship with its key supplier i.e. Adani group” as a factor that went in its favour.

Since the company is registered as a partnership firm, its financial documents are not available in the public domain. However, it shares its registered address with Adicorp Enterprises, which came under public scrutiny in 2023 after Hindenburg Research flagged its transactions with the Adani Group.

The investment firm pointed out that in 2020, four Adani Group companies had lent Rs 6.2 billion to Adicorp, and the same year, Adicorp lent Rs 6.1 billion to Adani Power, which amounted to 98% of the amount it got as loans from Adani Group.

“In short, it looks like Adicorp has simply been used to route funds from various Adani Group companies to publicly listed Adani Power,” it alleged. It suggested that this may have been done to “side-step” the mandatory declarations a company has to make when it conducts “related party transactions” or the act of one company paying another with which it shares common ownership.

In its 413-page response to Hindenburg, the Adani Group said, “AdiCorp is not a related party, and transactions with AdiCorp are not ‘related party transactions’ under laws of Indian or accounting standards and these have been undertaken in compliance with applicable law.”

Apart from the NTPC, Adani Enterprises Limited also won other tenders in 2022 to import coal for government-owned companies. Rajasthan’s state-owned power distributor, for instance, signed a contract with Adani Enterprises to import 0.57 million tonnes of coal for its plants. The state imported 0.5 million tonnes of coal the following year as well but we could not independently verify who the importer was in this case.

Even Coal India Limited initially awarded a contract to Adani Enterprises after it emerged as the lowest bidder on one of three tenders floated by it. But after a consortium led by an Indonesian firm won the other two tenders, Coal India cancelled the contract with Adani because its bid price exceeded the Indonesian Consortium’s by Rs 2,184 per tonne. Coal India eventually awarded the whole quantity to the consortium.

The average price per tonne in the NTPC’s tenders for July 2022, the same month when Coal India issued its tenders, came to Rs 15,932. On the other hand, Coal India discovered an average price of Rs 14,715 per tonne from the Indonesian consortium across two tenders – Rs 1,217 per tonne cheaper than the price at which the NTPC awarded the tender to Adani Enterprises.

Rising profits

For Adani Enterprises, Adani Group’s flagship firm, the coal imports division called Integrated Resources Management is the largest one by several orders of magnitude. A perusal of its statements over the years reveals how the period of government’s import mandates coincided with a dramatic expansion of its revenues and profits.

In its annual report for the financial year 2019-’20, it noted that the business was struggling on account of “a decline in the volume pertaining to the supplies made to various states or central owned electricity boards” and “amidst increased domestic production” from Coal India Limited.

The next year, it reported a 19.5% fall in the volume imported – from 78.8 million metric tonnes in the previous year to 63.4 million metric tonnes.

In 2021-’22, the company maintained that “the business witnessed a decline in volumes”, but also noted that “in the last quarter, the Company witnessed new orders from the State or Central Electricity Board”. This reflected the exact period – December 2021 – when the power ministry issued its initial advisory on coal imports.

The next year proved a watershed one for the company’s coal imports business. As the ministry’s coal import advisory turned into an all-encompassing mandate, Adani’s coal import volume shot up 37% over the previous year’s. The segment earned the company Rs 99,486 crore in revenue, which comprised 72% of Adani Enterprises’ total turnover for the year.

In terms of profits before deducting tax, this came to Rs 3,417 crore.

The next two years, the company’s profitability continued to rise as the coal import orders for blending were revised and extended.

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said that it would not permit illegal detentions while hearing a petition stating that Mumbai Police detained protesters and passers-by during demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday and Sunday, Live Law reported.

The petition alleged that around 600 persons were detained on Saturday and another 300 on Sunday.

Protesters were not allowed to assemble near Shivaji Park on Sunday and were detained at Dadar railway station, Scroll reported. Some persons were allegedly detained merely for walking in the area.

The petitioner also submitted that Mumbai Police picked up students who had participated in the youth protests in July from their homes, Bar and Bench reported.

It urged the court to declare the “indiscriminate” detention of peaceful protesters and pedestrians without “lawful individual justification” unconstitutional.

“We will take care of the issue, but obviously we will not permit this illegal detention,” Live Law quoted Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi as saying.

The court adjourned the hearing to Monday.

Protests against Kumar

Protests are being held in several parts of the country calling for Kumar to resign over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision exercise.

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The Opposition INDIA bloc held its first joint press conference since nationwide protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar broke out. All India Students’ Association chief Neha Bora also joined the leaders of the coalition.

They said that the demonstration will continue until Kumar resigns. This came a day after Opposition leaders, including former Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, joined by Bora, led a march towards the Supreme Court.

They filed a petition challenging the Election Commission’s special intensive revision of electoral rolls, seeking an independent audit of voter deletions, disclosure of the poll panel’s internal records and an interim suspension of the exercise.

On Tuesday, the Opposition leaders condemned the Delhi Police denotifying Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site and said that they “will fight this”.

Starting the press conference, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Opposition bloc will share details of the further course of action in the coming days.

“This is probably the first time that so many people have gathered in Delhi,” Kharge said while speaking about the march on Monday.

Sagarika Ghosh, an MP from the Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress, said that the protests by the Opposition would not stop until action is taken against all election officers who supervised Assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar and West Bengal.

Ghosh alleged that vote theft had taken place in all four states. “The Bengal government that is in power today is an illegitimate government,” she added.

Bora said that the fight of the Opposition parties and student groups was against the Bharatiya Janata Party as they had “committed treason” through the special intensive revision.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said that there are “no parallel protests” and the “mission is to restore democracy in India”.

“Democracy has been destroyed,” added Gandhi. “The elections have been destroyed. We are fighting to restore genuine democratic rule in the country. The government has decided to stop the use of Jantar Mantar. We will fight this.”

Regarding the next steps of the demonstration, Gandhi said that we “cannot tell you the details of our plan”.

“But this will continue,” he added.

Protests against Kumar have been held in the national capital and other parts of the country since October 2.

BJP criticises Congress on CEC appointments

Hours ahead of the Opposition press conference, Union minister Piyush Goyal said that Congress was raising questions about the Election Commission “while ignoring its own track record”.

Goyal said that TN Seshan, who was the tenth chief election commissioner, was fielded by the Congress against veteran BJP leader LK Advani.

The BJP leader further said that MS Gill, who was the chief election commissioner from 1996, awarded Padma Bhushan while holding the post and was later made a Union minister by the Congress.

Goyal also questioned the appointment of RK Trivedi as a governor of Gujarat just two months after his tenure as the chief election commissioner ended in 1986.

“Naveen Chawla was made the chief election commissioner by Sonia Gandhi, even when she was not in the government,” Goyal was quoted as saying by ANI.

Written by Sneha. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Cockroach Janta Party leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde were detained by the Delhi Police after they “sneaked into” Jantar Mantar. They were allegedly not allowed to meet their lawyer and their phones were also confiscated.

This came a day after Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site based on recommendations from a committee constituted by the Union home ministry.

Tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a social media post, Abhijeet Dipke, the political campaign’s founder, said: “You cannot denotify the resistance.” Read on.

Watch: A generation’s revolt against Modi

China described as “illegal and invalid” India’s move to give standard names to 28 places and geographical features in the Union Territory of Ladakh. “China has never recognised the so-called Union Territory of Ladakh unilaterally and illegally established by India,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

Responding to this, India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated that Ladakh “is an integral and inalienable part of India” and that “no amount of denial by the Chinese side can change this established fact”. Read on.

The Supreme Court stayed the trial against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case for remarks in which he referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “choron ke sardar”, or leader of thieves. Issuing notices to the Maharashtra government and the complainant, the bench sought their responses within four weeks.

The complaint, filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, pertains to a speech made by Gandhi in September 2018 about the Rafale fighter jet deal. The complainant argued that by referring to Modi, a BJP member, as “choron ke sardar”, Gandhi had portrayed BJP members as “thieves”, giving party workers the right to initiate defamation proceedings. Read on.

The Delhi Police registered two first information reports in connection with the INDIA bloc’s march to the Supreme Court. The cases were filed for allegedly organising the protest without permission and breaking through barricades with the help of a truck.

It is not clear how many persons have been named in the case or the charges invoked. Read on.

SC tells government to follow the law on protests – but it still hasn’t asked what the law permits, write Sarthak Gupta and Prannv Dhawan

Persons who took part in a demonstration in Bengaluru on Monday against alleged assault of protesters in Delhi told Scroll that they were detained and that the police treated the protesters with “vengeance”. They alleged that the police used abusive language and “violently” pushed them onto buses.

As the allegations emerged, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that there could be no “double standards” on the right to protest. Read on.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our Daily Brief newsletter.

China on Tuesday described as “illegal and invalid” India’s move to give standard names to 28 places and geographical features in the Union Territory of Ladakh, the Global Times reported.

“China has never recognised the so-called Union Territory of Ladakh unilaterally and illegally established by India,” the state-owned media portal quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning as saying.

Responding to this, India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated that Ladakh “is an integral and inalienable part of India”.

“No amount of denial by the Chinese side can change this established fact,” said the ministry.

On October 2, India identified 28 places, including several sites in Aksai Chin, on the official Indian map. China occupies the Aksai Chin, which India states is part of its Union Territory of Ladakh.

The list also featured Gogra and Hot Spring, where a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese militaries took place in June 2020. It had led to the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. Beijing said that the clash left four of its soldiers dead.

On Tuesday, Mao claimed that India’s move “cannot change the fact that the relevant areas in the western sector of the China-India boundary have always belonged to China”.

New Delhi said that the announcement on October 2 was made in consultation with the Union Territory of Ladakh and local stakeholders.

“Identifying these places formally on the Survey of India map of UT of Ladakh is aimed at facilitating their accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large,” the external affairs ministry’s said.

On August 7, the Union government also issued standard names for 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh, including some in areas claimed by China. China had objected to it.

China has for long sought to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. Beijing lays territorial claims over a large portion of Arunachal Pradesh, claiming that it is “South Tibet”. China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan. India has rejected China’s claims.

Edited by Sneha.

The Karnataka Police on Monday detained at least 100 persons who were marching towards the Election Commission office in Bengaluru to protest the detention and alleged assault of protesters in Delhi during demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, The Hindu reported.

The Delhi Police detained more than 7,000 persons on Saturday during a protest demanding Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. Some protesters also alleged that they were assaulted by the police.

The Delhi Police operates under the Union home ministry, while the Karnataka Police reports to the state government led by the Congress.

On Tuesday, the Karnataka Police said that the protesters had assembled near KR Circle without permission and refused to move to Freedom Park, which has been designated as a protest site.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Akshay M Hakay told The Hindu that this was “contrary to the High Court’s directions of protesting at designated places”.

Hakay claimed that when the protesters did not comply with the directions to relocate to Freedom Park, they were taken into preventive custody.

However, the protesters have objected to Freedom Park being designated as the sole venue for peaceful demonstrations, activist Geeta Menon told Scroll.

Menon, who was detained during Monday’s protest, said that she had reached the protest site at about 3 pm and found that the police had already filled one bus with detained protesters. Later, two more buses were filled, she said.

She said that the police treated the protesters with “vengeance”, using abusive language and “violently” pushing them onto buses.

“As the police tried to harass us on the bus, we continued shouting protest slogans,” Menon said. She alleged that one protester’s nails broke, another’s glasses were damaged and a man sprained his arm while he was being pushed by the police.

Menon said that the protesters were taken to the detention grounds, where they were offered tea and chips. They were asked to provide their names and other details before being released at about 7 pm.

Another protester, student Amalia, said she was detained at about 4 pm along with more than 50 other protesters. She was taken to a police station and released at about 6 pm.

She alleged that police officers surrounded and followed the protesters as they marched.

The police first mostly detained the men, Amalia said, adding that they were forced into a bus. “When the women protesters blocked the bus, women police officers harassed us,” she alleged.

Amalia alleged that the protesters were taken away in an “extremely violent” manner and that a friend of hers was slapped by the police.

“I was trying to step inside the bus while being detained, but still an officer pushed me in,” she said. “I could have fallen on my face.”

Amalia alleged that persons in plain clothes were also surrounding the protesters, and one of them was talking to the police and the lawyers where she was detained.

The Bengaluru police action came as Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, was in Delhi on Monday to participate in an Opposition-led protest against the voter roll revision.

Menon said that it was the “worst irony” that police were detaining demonstrators in Karnataka while the state’s chief minister was participating in a similar protest in Delhi.

Shivakumar on Tuesday said that there could be no “double standards” on the right to protest.

“The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy. We cannot demand that right for ourselves in Delhi and deny it to others in Bengaluru,” he said in a social media post.

He added: “I have sought a full report on the circumstances that led to the police action. If there has been any unnecessary use of force or excess, accountability will follow.”

Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge said on Tuesday that the handling of the protestors by Bengaluru Police will be reviewed.

“The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy,” Kharge said. “It must be respected, protected and never suppressed.”

He said that he has issued instructions to the police to “ensure that no peaceful demonstration is disrupted”.

Kharge also appealed to all protesters to cooperate with the police and keep the authorities informed, so that “their safety and the rights of others are protected”.

On Tuesday, another protest was held in Freedom Park by lawyers, including some who had been detained a day ago.

Inputs from Abeer Khan and Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Cockroach Janta Party leaders Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ajinkya Shinde were detained by the Delhi Police on Tuesday after they “sneaked into” Jantar Mantar, said the political campaign’s founder Abhijeet Dipke.

Some other members of the political campaign were also detained, Dipke said.

“You cannot denotify the resistance, @narendramodi,” Dipke said on social media, a day after it came to light that Jantar Mantar had been denotified as a designated protest sites.

Ranka, Das, Shinde and others had been taken to the Jaffarpur Kalan police station in south-west Delhi, a Cockroach Janta Party volunteer told Scroll.

They were not allowed to meet their lawyer and their phones were also confiscated, the political campaign’s head of legal affairs Ratna Singh alleged.

Cockroaches with the Tiranga sneaked into Jantar Mantar early this morning before they were picked up by Delhi Police. @AshutoshRanka, @SauravDassss, @AjinkyaCJP along with other team members have been detained.

You cannot denotify the resistance, @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/x7B40akCVO

— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 13, 2026

On Sunday, Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site in the national capital, based on recommendations from a committee constituted by the Union home ministry. The police order was reported on Monday.

The police designated three alternative venues for protests: Ramlila Ground in central Delhi, Burari Ground in northern Delhi and CBD Ground in eastern Delhi’s Shahdara area.

The order was issued against the backdrop of protests in the national capital by the Cockroach Janta Party, the Opposition parties and student groups to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Protests had also been held in June and July at Jantar Mantar against alleged exam irregularities.

The Cockroach Janta Party had started a sit-in demonstration at the protest site on June 20, which continued till July 28. The protest resulted in Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dharmendra Pradhan resigning as the Union education minister.

Inputs from Anant Gupta. Edited by Sara Varghese and Nachiket Deuskar.

Also read:

• Delhi Police arrested thousands far away from Jantar Mantar. What this legal?

• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar

The names of 13.6 lakh persons were deleted from Punjab’s final voter list published on Monday following the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, The Hindu quoted the state Election Commission as saying.

The number of voters in the state fell to about 2.01 crore from 2.14 crore before the exercise began, The Times of India reported. This amounts to a decrease of about 6.3%.

The draft electoral roll published on August 13 had only 1.9 crore names on it. Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra said that 35.4 lakh electors were issued notices during the verification process. Of these, more than 86,000 were marked ineligible.

The final rolls also include more than 7.9 lakh newly added voters, The New Indian Express reported.

Punjab is among the 19 states and Union Territories where the voter roll revision is being carried out in the third phase of SIR.

Political parties praise CEO

After the publication of the final rolls, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, the Congress’ state unit, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party praised Mitra for her handling of the voter roll revision exercise, reported The Indian Express.

“We discussed our points with the chief electoral officer at every meeting,” said Shiromani Akali Dal spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler. “She listened carefully to everything and made improvements wherever they were needed.”

Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ferry Sofat was quoted as saying by The Indian Express that the party had repeatedly raised matters related to the special intensive revision with Mitra.

“In Punjab, the process has been smooth and well coordinated by CEO Anindita Mitra, and this is what has been praised,” said Sofat.

Congress spokesperson Hardeep Singh Kingra said that all the queries that the party had raised with Mitra were answered promptly.

The exercise began in Punjab on June 25 and the draft rolls were published on August 13, followed by a period for claims and objections, and hearings on disputed entries until October 8.

The next state elections in Punjab are expected to be held early next year.

Protests against Gyanesh Kumar

The praise for Mitra came amid nationwide protests calling for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision exercise.

The trigger for the protests was a September 23 investigation by The Indian Express, which revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.

Since the exercise began, concerns have been raised that the revision could eliminate genuine voters from the rolls and even shape electoral outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the exercise, but said that it does not mean that the Election Commission can decide on whether the person is an Indian citizen.

Despite this, Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states have cited the SIR to deny ration cards to those who have been eliminated from the rolls. In some cases, the police have denied permission for their passports to be renewed.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar and Sneha.

Follow Scroll’s coverage of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls here.

Also read: SIR explained: Why the voter roll revision has become so controversial

The 0.4% fee on Unified Payments Interface transactions above Rs 2,000 to merchants will be imposed after the Hindu festival of Diwali, which will be celebrated on November 8 this year, said the National Payments Corporation of India on Tuesday.

The corporation is an umbrella body of retail payments and settlement systems operating under the Reserve Bank of India.

On September 14 and September 15, the Ministry of Finance issued notifications stating that UPI payments to merchants valued above Rs 2,000 would attract a merchant discount rate of 0.4%.

A merchant discount rate is a fee charged to businesses by banks to cover the costs of processing transactions. The rate typically ranges from 1% to 3% of the transaction value for credit card payments and can be up to 0.9% for debit card transactions.

On September 28, the Union government said that the charges would take effect on October 15.

The National Payments Corporation of India said on Tuesday that the decision to defer the implementation of the charges was taken “keeping in mind the festive season”.

Opposition to the charges

In September, a petition had been filed before the Supreme Court that said that businesses may pass on the additional cost of the UPI charges to consumers.

Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, appearing for the Union government, had submitted before the court on September 28 that 96% of transactions would not attract the charge.

In 2025-’26, transactions exceeding Rs 2,000 accounted for just 4% of person-to-merchant UPI payment, The Indian Express reported. However, these transactions represented nearly two-thirds of the total value of person-to-merchant UPI payments.

On September 15, the government clarified that the 0.4% fee had been capped at Rs 300 per transaction for payments of Rs 75,000 and more. The Ministry of Finance had said that the new framework will have no impact on person-to-person transactions, “irrespective of the amount transferred”.

It had also “advised” banks to ensure that the charges are not passed on to the customers.

The government’s notification on UPI transactions had sparked concerns among the Opposition parties, retailers and consumers.

The Opposition has demanded that the Union government roll back the charges on UPI payments.

On September 23, several traders and shopkeepers in Madhya Pradesh also staged a protest against the government move by covering the quick response code or QR code and requesting customers to pay in cash.

Written by Sneha. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The Delhi Police has registered two first information reports in connection with the INDIA bloc’s march to the Supreme Court on Monday for allegedly organising the protest without permission and breaking through barricades with the help of a truck, The Hindu reported.

It is not clear how many persons have been named in the case or the charges invoked.

Amid protests across the country demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, several Opposition leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and former Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, marched towards the Supreme Court on Monday. The INDIA bloc leaders filed a petition challenging the Election Commission’s special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

The two fresh FIRs were registered at the Barakhamba Road and Tilak Marg police stations.

At least three FIRs were filed against Gandhi for allegedly assaulting police personnel and obstructing them during the INDIA bloc’s protest on October 7. Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also named in the FIRs, which were registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to assaulting police personnel, obstructing government work, pushing and manhandling, and misbehaviour with police personnel.

Protests against Kumar

Protests are being held in several parts of the country calling for Kumar to resign over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision exercise.

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the trial against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case for remarks in which he referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “choron ke sardar” or “leader of thieves”, Live Law reported.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh issued notices to the Maharashtra government and the complainant seeking their responses within four weeks, The Hindu reported.

On September 8, the Bombay High Court refused to quash the case against Gandhi, after which he moved the Supreme Court.

The complaint, filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, pertains to a speech made by Gandhi in September 2018 about the Rafale fighter jet deal. During a rally in Rajasthan, Gandhi referred to Modi as “choron ke sardar”.

The complainant contended that Gandhi’s remarks were directed at Modi and, by extension, at the BJP and its members, lowering their reputation.

He argued that by referring to Modi, a BJP member, as “choron ke sardar”, Gandhi had portrayed BJP members as “thieves”, giving party workers the right to initiate defamation proceedings.

Gandhi had challenged the maintainability of the complaint and moved the High Court, arguing that the remarks did not name any political party or its members.

However, the court had rejected the argument, holding that the BJP, being a registered national political party, was a clearly identifiable body.

Edited by Sara Varghese.

The Karnataka High Court on Monday struck down provisions of a 2022 law that increased reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in educational institutes and state government jobs, ruling that the enhanced quotas breached the 50% ceiling, Bar and Bench reported

A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemalekha declared Section 3 and Section 4 of the Act as unconstitutional, The Indian Express reported.

The law increased reservations for Scheduled Caste communities to 17% from 15% and for Scheduled Tribe communities to 7% from 3%. With the 32% quota for Other Backward Classes unchanged, the reservations in the state had risen to 56% from 50%.

The Act received the governor’s assent in January 2023 during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state and was given retrospective effect from November 1, 2022, Bar and Bench reported.

While Section 3 of the Act increased the reservations in educational institutes, Section 4 in state government jobs.

The court held that Section 3 violated Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law, and Article 15, which prohibits discrimination on grounds including caste. Section 4 violated Article 14 and Article 16, the latter guaranteeing equality of opportunity in public employment, the bench said.

The ruling came on petitions against the amended reservations matrix, including one filed by a social worker and another by civil engineering graduates who had challenged the enhanced quota in recruitment to the Bengaluru municipal body.

The state government defended the increase, arguing that more than 90% of Karnataka’s population belonged to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward communities and that reservations should reflect their share of the population.

The bench rejected the argument and reiterated that inadequate representation did not allow the state to exceed the 50% ceiling. “To accept the said contention would be destructive of the principle of equality enshrined under the Constitution,” Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying.

The Supreme Court had in 1992 put in place a 50% limit on caste-based reservations.

Although the 1992 ruling allowed exceptions in extraordinary circumstances, the High Court said that population size or inadequate representation alone did not justify exceeding the 50% ceiling, The Indian Express reported.

The bench also rejected the state’s argument that the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, which introduced 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections in 2019, had removed the 50% ceiling, The Hindu reported.

It said that the 10% quota for Economically Weaker Sections comes from the general category and does not allow the state to increase reservations for other communities.

The court also held that the state was required to consult the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes before making major policy decisions affecting the communities, Bar and Bench reported.

The government relied on letters sent to the two commissions in December 2025 and January 2026. However, the bench noted that these were sent nearly three years after the law was enacted and after it had been challenged in court.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission’s special intensive revision of electoral rolls, seeking an independent audit of voter deletions, disclosure of the poll panel’s internal records and an interim suspension of the exercise, Live Law reported.

The petition was filed after the leaders’ request for a meeting with Chief Justice Surya Kant to submit a memorandum on the voter roll revision and the functioning of the Election Commission was declined.

Kant said that similar matters were already pending before the Supreme Court and that the leaders were free to approach the court through the judicial process.

Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and several Opposition leaders led a march towards the Supreme Court, joined by other INDIA bloc leaders, including former Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav. Student leaders such as All India Students’ Association chief Neha Bora also joined the protest.

The march came amid protests across the country demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

While Gandhi had planned to present the petition himself, it was filed through advocates as the Supreme Court Registry was nearing closing time, Live Law reported.

What the petition seeks

The petition seeks judicial scrutiny of the poll panel’s decision-making process and demands that records be presented to establish whether the decisions relating to the revision of voter rolls were taken in accordance with the law, Live Law reported.

The petitioners have asked the court to direct the Election Commission to disclose its files, minutes of meetings, notes and objections recorded by the two poll commissioners on disputed SIR decisions, along with access logs for the online portals.

They have also sought all details relating to the poll panel’s June 24, 2025, decision to launch the nationwide exercise.

The petition questions whether the decisions were taken lawfully and collectively, citing Article 324 of the Constitution, the 2023 Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act and an older Supreme Court ruling. Article 324 pertains to the appointment of election commissioners.

The plea seeks the quashing of decisions found to have been taken unlawfully and demands action against those responsible for any violations.

The petition also challenges the modification of online Form 6 in July. The form, used to register first-time voters, was amended to include a declaration on whether the applicant or their relatives appeared on electoral rolls created following the previous special intensive revision in 2002.

Critics say that the change could make voter registration harder for first-time voters whose families are absent from older electoral rolls, Bar and Bench reported.

The petitioners contend that the additional requirement was introduced without amending the 1960 Registration of Electors Rules and have sought a direction that the form comply with the existing rules unless they are amended.

Opposition seeks SIR deletions audit

The Opposition’s plea also seeks the formation of an independent committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to audit deletions and modifications made during the voter roll revision and examine who has access to electoral roll databases, Bar and Bench reported.

The proposed committee should also review decisions, procedures and technical systems relating to the use of electronic voting machines against global best practices, the plea added.

The petitioners have sought booth-wise publication of deleted voters’ names, the reasons for deletion as well as an age and gender breakdown of the data.

They have also sought permission for eligible people in Punjab and other poll-bound states to apply for inclusion in electoral rolls until the last date allowed by law, Bar and Bench reported. The Assembly elections in Punjab are expected to be held in early 2027.

The petition states that it does not seek to reopen the Supreme Court’s May judgement upholding the legality of SIR, but raises concerns about the exercise’s implementation and the poll panel’s decision-making process.

The trigger for this round of protests and the petition was a September 23 investigation by The Indian Express, which revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.

Also read: SIR explained: Why the voter roll revision has become so controversial

Besides Gandhi and Kharge, the other listed petitioners are Saugata Roy of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress faction, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

MA Baby of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), D Raja of the Communist Party of India, Mahua Majhi of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and ET Mohammed Basheer of the Indian Union Muslim League are also party to the plea, Live Law reported.

The Supreme Court Registry subsequently flagged more than 10 defects in the filing, PTI reported. These included a request for a clearer copy of Kharge’s identity card, illegible or missing pages and a court fee shortfall of more than Rs 200.

Monday marked the third consecutive day of protests in Delhi by the Opposition parties, student groups and the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, to demand Kumar’s resignation over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the SIR.

Protests against Kumar have been held in the national capital and other parts of the country since October 2.

Watch: A generation’s revolt against Modi

A contentious exercise

Since the exercise began in June 2025, it has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the exercise, but said that it does not mean that the Election Commission can decide on whether the person is an Indian citizen.

Despite this, Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states have cited the SIR to deny ration cards to those who have been eliminated from the rolls. In some cases, the police have denied permission for their passports to be renewed.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

Also read:

• ‘Private parts kicked, phones taken away’: Detained Delhi protestors allege assault in police vans
• Delhi Police arrested thousands far away from Jantar Mantar. What this legal?
• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar

On the morning of October 13, 1925, C Murugesan walked through the stone gateway of the Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple in Chitoor district in Madras Presidency. The temple, in the town of Tiruchanoor, sits around 5 km from the foothills of Tirupati. Local tradition maintains that no journey to worship Lord Venkateswara in the temple on top of the hill is complete without the pilgrim first seeking the blessings of his consort at the base.

Murugesan belonged to a community then classified as untouchable. On that day, he carried no political banners nor did he march with a crowd. His only intention was to offer a simple karpura harathi, lighting camphor before the deity.

But his pious act was met by a swift response from the temple authorities. Within hours, the police arrested him under Section 295 of the Indian Penal Code, which related to the “defilement of a place of worship” carried out with the “intent to insult the religion of any class of persons”.

A lower court quickly convicted him. It imposed a fine of Rs 75 or a month of rigorous imprisonment. To orthodox Hindus, this conviction was a routine affirmation of their monopolistic custody over sacred spaces. But to members of the anti-caste movement, it was an alarming indication of how criminal law was being used to penalise basic spiritual longings based on one’s birth identity.

Articles in The Hindu from late 1925 capture the shockwaves the incident sent through the country. The paper was flooded with letters from alarmed upper caste devotees in Chittoor warning against Murugesan’s conviction being challenged. This would “dissolve the ancient fabric of Hindu society”, one person wrote.

Outside the court, a multi-caste coalition to defend Murugesan was taking shape. The Hindu described in detail the crowds composed of intermediate-caste workers from the Congress, local peasants, and handloom weavers who were gathering daily in Tirupati. They were pooling in small donations to support the legal fight and waiting to see if the colonial state would validate a Dalit’s right to pray.

News of the conviction soon reached the Madras Bar, catching the attention of C Rajagopalachari, or Rajaji, as he was known. In his late 40s, Rajaji had abandoned his legal practice to join Mohandas Gandhi's freedom movement. Though he had traded his lawyer’s gowns for hand-spun khaddar, he saw that the Tiruchanoor conviction represented a dangerous precedent.

Rajaji felt that if left unaddressed, it would be catastrophic. It would provide a permanent legal weapon for traditionalists across the country, who would use it to permanently bar marginalised communities from entering other public spaces, not just temples, using the threat of criminal prosecution.

Rajaji’s private letters from this period to Devadas Gandhi, Mohdandas Gandhi’s son, reveal the deep anxiety that led him to intervene. As the Murugesan case was underway, Mohandas Gandhi and others were waging the Vaikom Satyagraha in Travancore to press for the right of members of the lower castes to walk on the roads surrounding the temple.

In his letter to Devadas, Rajaji had expressed a chilling fear that if the Tiruchanoor conviction went unchallenged, the Vaikom spirit would be crushed too. Mohandas Gandhi believed that discrimination could be quelled by a mass moral awakening and a long-term “change of heart” by the oppressor castes. Rajaji disagreed, asserting that safeguarding the statutory boundaries of the Indian Penal Code was a vital, immediate shield for protecting the marginalised from state-backed persecution.

This urgency led Rajaji to travel to Tirupati to appeal on Murugesan’s behalf. His appeal was convened before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Chittoor, Ramaswami Iyer. The trial inside the packed courtroom represented a duel between tradition and modernity.

The prosecution argued that the presence of a lower-caste man in the inner precinct of the temple was an act of inherent defilement. The prosecution maintained that Murugesan’s entry wounded the religious sensibilities of the upper-caste worshippers. That is why it qualified as a criminal offence, they contended.

Rajaji’s counter to the prosecution focused on the exact letter of the law. He refused to let the case dissolve into an abstract ideological debate. He argued that the Indian Penal Code was a “secular mechanism” designed to punish malicious intent and not an instrument to enforce social customs or ritual hierarchies.

He asked the magistrate how a reverent act of faith could ever be interpreted as a criminal attempt and, more importantly, to insult a religion. Murugesan, the devotee, had entered the temple as a devout believer to offer a karpura harathi – the highest expression of Hindu ritual worship.

Rajaji stated that true religious sentiment could never be defiled by an act of genuine devotion. For the state to criminalise a person for expressing their faith was an absurdity unsupported by colonial penal code.

In December 1925, Sub-Divisional Magistrate V Ramaswami Iyer of Chittoor set aside the lower court’s conviction on appeal and acquitted Murugesan. He said a peaceful act of worship did not constitute criminal trespass or defilement under the penal code. He added that the state could not use criminal law to restrict access to a public religious space, solely based on a person’s caste identity.

Murugesan’s acquittal in Tiruchanoor transformed the texture and nature of anti-caste resistance in Southern India. Temple entry was now deemed to be a legitimate civil rights pursuit, with Murugesan’s acquittal inspiring further mass agitations across the region.

A decade later, when Gandhi visited Chittoor district, he led 33 satyagrahis into the same Tiruchanoor temple. This time, they walked the path that Murugesan and Rajaji had cleared years before.

A century later, Murugesan’s battle to enter a temple is one small but relevant incident in India’s legal history. Rajaji’s defence strategy used the secular language of law to challenge social exclusions instead of finding a legal loophole.

His arguments were instrumental in laying the early framework for the principles of public accessibility and universal non-discrimination. These were the principles that the makers of India’s Constitution would later enshrine in Articles 15(2) and 25 – prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and the freedom to propagate one’s religion.

Murugesan showed that the quest for a more egalitarian society during the freedom struggle took place on the roads and also battles in small courtrooms.

Nikhil Sanjay-Rekha Adsule is a senior research scholar at IIT-Delhi. His X handle is @beingkhilji.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged the public to join the Opposition INDIA bloc’s march to the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon to meet Chief Justice Surya Kant and submit a petition amid protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

However, Kant has declined the request for a meeting.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said that Jantar Mantar has been removed from the list of designated protest sites in the national capital, ANI reported.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, marched to the Supreme Court with 10 Opposition leaders and submitted a petition against the Election Commission.

Monday marks the third consecutive day of protests in Delhi by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, the Opposition parties and student groups to demand Kumar’s resignation over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Protests against Kumar have been held in the national capital and other parts of the country since October 2.

In Bengaluru, several protesters were detained while demonstrating against Kumar at KR Circle, The Hindu reported.

Here’s more on this and other updates:

Opposition’s protest today

• Gandhi said at a press conference that Kumar will “not survive as the election commissioner”, stating that lakhs of people who are asking questions about his conduct will not stop protesting.
• The Congress leader claimed that 200 officers working in central agencies and ministries were in touch with the Opposition.

Rahul Gandhi, other INDIA bloc leaders, and Neha Bora arrive at the protest site together in the same bus.@sighyush reports pic.twitter.com/6ZL6gNSjzx

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 12, 2026

• Gandhi reiterated his demand that Kumar should resign from his post and “turn approver”. “We know you have made the mistake,” the Congress leader said. “Resign and move out of the EC. We will forgive you. We are after those who forced CEC into it.”
• When asked about his support for demonstrations led by the Cockroach Janta Party and other organisations, Gandhi said all protests were part of the same movement, with “no parallel” protests. “We do not care who you are…” Gandhi said. “If you are protecting the Constitution as we are, we are with you, we will support you.”

A young protestor explains why she set aside her qualms about the Congress party and came out in the streets answering Rahul Gandhi's appeal to the public to support their protest against Gyanesh Kumar.@AnantGuptaAG reports pic.twitter.com/JG65ZUDMB9

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 12, 2026

• Gandhi had been urging citizens, youth groups and all Opposition parties to join the march.
• Key Opposition leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, participated in the march. The INDIA bloc parties had instructed their state units to also mobilise for the march in Delhi, the Deccan Herald reported. This will be the Opposition’s fifth protest in the capital to demand Kumar’s resignation since October 6.
• However, Kant declined Gandhi’s request for a meeting, Live Law quoted unidentified persons aware of the matter. The chief justice said that questions concerning the voter roll revision and the chief election commissioner were already pending before the Supreme Court and, therefore, it would be inappropriate to consider matters that are sub-judice, Live Law reported.
• Kant also conveyed that the Supreme Court could not intervene in the functioning of the executive on its “administrative side” under the constitutional scheme, according to the report. However, he clarified that the Opposition was free to approach the court through the judicial process.
• The plea in the Supreme Court mentions Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Shiv Sena (Uddhavbalasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader MA Baby, Communist Party of India leader D Raja, Mahua Majhi of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Mohammed Basheer as petitioners.
• Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janta Party approached the Delhi Police to seek a date for a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar. The campaign said it will give the police 24 hours to respond, warning that it would independently announce a call to mobilise otherwise.
• Jantar Mantar has been de-notified as a designated protest site based on recommendations made by a committee constituted by the Union home ministry, a police order on Sunday was quoted as saying by ANI. The order designated three alternative venues for protests: Ramlila Ground in central Delhi, Burari Ground in north Delhi and CBD Ground in eastern Delhi’s Shahdara area.
• The Delhi High Court Bar Association has asked its members to wear black ribbons on Monday to protest against the allegedly excessive use of force against demonstrating lawyers by the police on Saturday, Live Law reported.

Restrictions continue

• Entry and exit at Delhi Metro stations were shut at 6 am, ahead of the Opposition’s march. They were scheduled to reopen at 4 pm but will continue to remain shut till 5 pm, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said.
• The stations are Janpath, Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Mandi House, Central Secretariat and Barakhamba Road. These are in central Delhi near the Jantar Mantar, and Connaught Place, where the Opposition has asked its supporters to gather for the march.
• Prohibitory orders barring gatherings are in force in central Delhi.

The demonstrations on Sunday

• On Sunday, the Delhi Police detained more than 700 persons including All India Students’ Association chief Neha Bora and members of Left-affiliated student groups and the Cockroach Janta Party, Hindustan Times reported.
• The protesters were picked up from Connaught Place, Palika Bazaar, RK Ashram Marg and outside the Press Club of India, the newspaper reported. Detainees were taken to locations including Chhatrasal Stadium and Pandwalan Khurd. Some protesters alleged they were beaten at Pandwalan Khurd.
• At least nine journalists covering the protests were detained on Sunday. These include three journalists of The Indian Express Hindi, two from Peek TV and at least three working with Malayalam news channels, including Reporter TV, 24 News and Asianet News. Journalist and content creator Shyam Meera Singh was also detained. Read more on this here.
• Communist Party of India (Marxist) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas alleged that he was “manhandled, dragged [and] assaulted” by the Delhi Police inside a vehicle before being “dumped” by the roadside in Delhi. A video shared by the party showed Brittas lying on the steps of a bus and panting.
• “This is not merely an assault on an MP,” Brittas said on social media. “It is an assault on democratic freedoms and the rule of law.”
• Brittas said that he had written to President Droupadi Murmu, the Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan and the chief justice seeking intervention, accountability for the police personnel involved and action on the question of parliamentary privilege.
• Demonstrators in other parts of the country, including in Maharashtra and Goa, were also detained.
• In Mumbai, demonstrators were not allowed to gather near Shivaji Park. Some were detained for walking near the area.
• In Pune, about 80 to 100 protesters, including members of Left groups, were detained during a demonstration at Good Luck Chowk. A protester told Scroll over the phone that those detained were taken in police vans to Shivajinagar Police Station. People later gathered outside the station, shouting slogans and demanding their release.
• In Goa, protesters were prevented from entering Azad Maidan in Panaji, where a demonstration had been scheduled. The main gates were locked and a police battalion was deployed around the venue.

Follow Scroll’s coverage of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls here.

A contentious exercise

Since the exercise began in June 2025, it has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the exercise, but said that it does not mean that the Election Commission can decide on whether the person is an Indian citizen.

Despite this, Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states have cited the SIR to deny ration cards to those who have been eliminated from the rolls. In some cases, the police have denied permission for their passports to be renewed.

Edited by Sara Varghese and Nachiket Deuskar.

Also read:

• Delhi Police arrested thousands far away from Jantar Mantar. What this legal?
• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar
• How TV channels covered the protests as ‘anarchy’ and ignored the detentions of journalists

Jantar Mantar has been removed from the list of designated protest sites in Delhi. As alternatives, the police designated the Ramlila Ground in Central Delhi, Burari Ground in northern Delhi and CBD Ground in eastern Delhi’s Shahdara area as venues for protest.

The order was issued by Delhi Commissioner of Police Anurag Kumar on October 11 based on recommendations from a committee constituted by the Union home ministry.

The action came against the backdrop of protests in the national capital by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, the Opposition parties and student groups to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Read on.

Delhi Police arrested thousands far away from Jantar Mantar. Was this legal? reports Anant Gupta

The Keralam Assembly passed a resolution demanding that Gyanesh Kumar be removed from his post. The Bharatiya Janata Party opposed the resolution, moved by Chief Minister VD Satheesan, and proposed amendments, which were rejected by the House.

The resolution urged that steps be taken to improve the transparency in the functioning of the Election Commission. It also asked the Union government and the Election Commission to address the defects in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls and restore the voting rights of all eligible electors. Read on.

How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar, writes Shoaib Daniyal

The Supreme Court said that it had not heard any matters related to the Election Commission’s Form 6, which is used to register new voters. As a consequence, the court’s statements from earlier this month cannot be construed as approving or disapproving any changes to the form, said Justice Joymala Bagchi.

Hearing petitions seeking the suspension of Kumar for allegedly taking unilateral decisions regarding the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, Chief Justice Surya Kant had verbally observed on October 5 that the Supreme Court had not approved any changes to Form 6.

On September 26, the Election Commission had claimed in a statement that a declaration attached to Form 6 for the voter roll revision exercise had been upheld by the court. Read on.

Conflict of interest concerns follow CEC Gyanesh Kumar from Sambhal to the Supreme Court, reports Ayush Tiwari

The Nobel Prize in economics was awarded to American economists Robert Hall and Michael Woodford for stabilisation models. Hall and Woodford developed new macroeconomic models that have “significantly improved our ability to implement effective stabilisation policy”, said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Fiscal and monetary policy measures based on these models “can reduce the economy’s peaks and troughs”, the academy added. Read on.

If you haven’t already, sign up for our Daily Brief newsletter.

The Congress on Monday said that the Delhi Police removing Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site was a sign of the “extreme panic that has gripped” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah.

The order to denotify Jantar Mantar as a protest site was issued by Delhi Commissioner of Police Anurag Kumar on October 11 based on recommendations from a committee constituted by the Union home ministry.

As alternatives, the police designated the Ramlila Ground in central Delhi, Burari Ground in northern Delhi and CBD Ground in eastern Delhi’s Shahdara area as venues for protest.

The order was issued against the backdrop of protests in the national capital by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, the Opposition parties and student groups to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Protests had also been held in June and July at Jantar Mantar against alleged exam irregularities. The Cockroach Janta Party had started a sit-in demonstration at the protest site on June 20, which continued till July 28. The protest resulted in Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dharmendra Pradhan resigning as the Union education minister.

On Monday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that “democracy no longer matters” to the prime minister and the home minister.

He described Modi and Shah as a “poisonous pair” and said that they were struggling with the protests against Kumar. “We have seen in the past few days how brutally they have dealt with peaceful public protests,” added Ramesh.

It is a definite sign of the extreme panic that has gripped the PM-HM duo that the historic Jantar Mantar will no longer be a place where our democracy is given a daily booster dose.

The poisonous pair is embattled and we have seen in the past few days how brutally they have…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 12, 2026

He was referring to the police crackdown on protesters on July 20, when dozens were injured as the security personnel used lathis and fired tear gas shells and pellet guns at the demonstrators. The police action turbocharged the agitation, which spread to other parts of the country. Pradhan resigned as the education minister on July 25.

The July demonstration had been organised by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign. The group also called for protests against Kumar on Saturday, ahead of which the authorities in the national capital imposed extensive restrictions, including putting up barricades, traffic curbs, closures of 45 metro station gates and the suspension of mobile internet services in parts of central Delhi.

On Monday, Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke said that the government did not have a problem with the protest site, “but with the protest”.

“A dictator has a problem with the idea of people protesting against him,” he said.

He added that the way Jantar Mantar was denotified as a protest site, “tomorrow, Narendra Modi will also denotify the country’s democracy”.

The political campaign’s convenor Saurav Das said the move was “unacceptable” and asked why Modi was “scared” of Jantar Mantar.

He also asked whether the Union home ministry had consulted any stakeholders or organisations before making its decision.

“We do not accept this arbitrary decision,” Das wrote on X. “It is an assault on people’s fundamental right to protest and peaceful assembly. Ab poora desh Jantar Mantar ban raha he!”

Modi is against the very idea of Protest. pic.twitter.com/eokp693n1r

— Cockroach Janta Party - CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 12, 2026

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that wherever we hold a sit-in protest, it “will become Jantar Mantar”.

After several protesters and political leaders were detained during the protest on Saturday, Neha Bora, the president of the All India Students’ Association, had said that the police would not be able to stop the demonstrators as “another part of Delhi will become Jantar Mantar tomorrow”.

“Let a hundred Jantar Mantars bloom!” she had said.

Demands for Kumar’s resignation

Protests against Kumar have been held in Delhi and other parts of the country since October 2.

The protesters have raised concerns after The Indian Express’ September 23 investigation showed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.

According to The Indian Express investigation, Sandhu and Joshi had reportedly objected to changes to Form 6, appeals against the inclusion of voters in West Bengal and the handling of voter data in Goa, among other matters. Form 6 is used to register new voters.

In one written objection, Sandhu was quoted as having stated that the poll panel had acted against the advice of both commissioners and described the action as “unauthorised and illegal”.

The two election commissioners had also raised concerns over access to the digital electoral roll database.

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

The Opposition has also demanded the removal of Kumar.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Sneha.

On October 10, defying Delhi Police’s security blanket, thousands of young protestors showed up in the heart of the national capital to demand the resignation of the chief election commissioner.

Among them was a 25-year-old former student of international law, who came to document police excesses against protestors, and another 25-year-old who drove from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, navigating his way into the city despite road closures.

The two may share little in common, but both were willing to put their bodies on the line to protest against the Modi government. What lies behind this generational revolt?

Watch our report.

The Supreme Court on Monday said that it had not heard any matter related to the Election Commission’s Form 6, which is used to register new voters, reported Bar and Bench. Therefore, the court’s statements from October 5 cannot be construed as approving or disapproving any changes to the form, Justice Joymala Bagchi was quoted as saying by the legal news outlet.

Hearing petitions seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for allegedly taking unilateral decisions regarding the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, Chief Justice Surya Kant had verbally observed on October 5 that the Supreme Court had not approved any changes to Form 6.

On September 26, the Election Commission had claimed in a statement that a declaration attached to Form 6 for the voter roll revision exercise had been upheld by the Supreme Court. The poll panel had also announced that the old version of Form 6 would be used in periods when SIR is not underway.

“Any modified Form 6 has not been approved by us,” Kant was quoted as having said. “Let’s be clear. When the record is produced, we would like to see who modified [it].”

During the hearing on Monday, the petitioners said that the poll panel had represented the new Form 6 as having the Supreme Court’s approval.

“On October 5, this Court had already declared that Form 6 was not approved by the Supreme Court of India,” the petitioner pointed out, reported Bar and Bench. “This is very important. I am seeking a direction regarding this.”

Kant told the petitioner that the court had not heard any matter related to the form.

“That is all we have said,” said the chief justice on Monday. “Whether approved or not approved, don’t pick up words like this only for yourself, please.”

Petitions were filed before the court after The Indian Express reported on September 23 that Sandhu and Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.

Their objections were reportedly related to the changes to Form 6, appeals against the inclusion of voters in West Bengal and the handling of voter data in Goa, among other matters. The two election commissioners had also raised concerns over access to the digital electoral roll database.

In one written objection, Sandhu was quoted as having stated that the poll body had acted against the advice of both commissioners and described the action as “unauthorised and illegal”.

SIR explained: Why the voter role revision has become so controversial

Contentious changes to Form 6

One of Joshi and Sandhu’s objections pertained to the registration of new voters and changes to Form 6.

The new form asked applicants to state whether they or their parents or grandparents were part of the last special intensive revision of electoral rolls. Although the new declaration is not marked as mandatory, applicants cannot submit the online form without filling it.

Joshi and Sandhu had objected to the change, saying that it could not be made without amending the rules. Section 28 of the 1950 Representation of the People Act says that only the Union government can amend the rules governing electoral forms, including Form 6.

The petitions were heard as protests are being held in several parts of the country calling for Kumar to resign over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision exercise.

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read: Conflict of interest concerns follow CEC Gyanesh Kumar from Sambhal to the Supreme Court

The Cockroach Janta Party and Left groups’ call for protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday made the news in international English media with an emphasis on the detention of the political campaign’s leaders and youth protesters.

Several media organisations reported on the “lockdown” in the national capital with heavy barricading and thousands of security personnel deployed ahead of the protests. They detailed how the Delhi Police “chased”, “dragged” and “bundled” the protesters in police vehicles.

The New York Times reported that the capital of the world’s largest democracy was turned into a “fortress” as thousands of protesters in their 20s and 30s gathered throughout the day to protest against the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

It described the police action as “extraordinary” which met with an “equally extraordinary display of defiance” from the youngsters.

The Guardian reported on how Delhi was put under a “severe lockdown” by shutting metro stations, cancelling trains and deploying “more than 25,000 police and security personnel” across the city with many pulled from other states.

“Over its 14 years in power, the Modi government has been rigidly intolerant of dissent,” The Guardian report said. “However, few protests have prompted such a draconian nationwide crackdown, signalling the government’s concern that this unrest could present a serious political challenge.”

The Financial Times also described Delhi on the day of the protest as a “fortress” and the “cockroaches” as “defiant”.

The Associated Press described the protest as anger against “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government” and the election authorities. It added that the detention of CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka “effectively crippled” the protest before its start.

The news agency also reported on the restrictions on mobile internet in the city, saying that they “added to the hurdles facing protesters”.

The Wall Street Journal reported that “Modi locked down” the national capital with thousands of security forces in a “bid to thwart a mass protest”.

Protests have been held in several parts of the country in recent weeks, calling for Kumar’s resignation over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read:

• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar
• ‘Citizens being silenced’: What ordinary Indians think of the crackdown on the Delhi protests
• How TV channels covered the protests as ‘anarchy’ and ignored the detentions of journalists
• Watch: True Story: Why Gyanesh Kumar’s exit may not end the rigging of Indian elections

The Keralam Assembly on Monday passed a resolution seeking that the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar be removed from his post, The Hindu reported.

The ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front and the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front supported the resolution, moved by Chief Minister VD Satheesan. The Bharatiya Janata Party opposed it and proposed amendments, which were rejected by the House.

The resolution came amid protests in the country seeking resignation of Kumar over allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the special intensive revision of voter rolls.

Read updates on the protests against the CEC here.

It also demanded that steps be taken to improve the transparency in the functioning of the Election Commission.

The resolution urged the Union government and the Election Commission to address the defects in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls and restore the voting rights of all eligible electors.

“Complaints have emerged that crores of eligible voters have been excluded from the electoral rolls without following any proper criteria or informing them in advance,” The Hindu quoted the resolution as saying. “Snatching away the right to vote of marginalised sections, minorities, migrant labourers and young voters through technical chicanery and defects constitutes a flagrant breach of democratic principles.”

On October 4, the Keralam government ordered a preliminary investigation into corruption allegations against Kumar dating back to his tenure as the state’s Public Works Department secretary about 20 years ago.

The allegations include claims of financial losses to the exchequer and the suspected death by suicide of Lee See Been, chief engineer of the PATI-BEL consortium, in Kuala Lumpur in November 2006.

Protests against CEC

Protests have been held against Kumar after The Indian Express’ September 23 investigation showed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.

According to The Indian Express investigation, Sandhu and Joshi had reportedly objected to changes to Form 6, appeals against the inclusion of voters in West Bengal and the handling of voter data in Goa, among other matters. Form 6 is used to register new voters.

The two election commissioners had also raised concerns over access to the digital electoral roll database.

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

Kumar has not yet commented on The Indian Express’ investigation. However, after the report was published, the Election Commission had said that “operational queries or inputs raised by commission members during draft stages are part of standard administrative practice” to safeguard voter rights.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read:

• PM Modi, Amit Shah at ‘war with citizens’ to protect Gyanesh Kumar, says CJP

• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar

Jantar Mantar has been removed from the list of designated protest sites in Delhi, ANI quoted a police order as stating on Sunday.

The action was taken based on recommendations from a committee constituted by the Union home ministry, the police were quoted as saying. Delhi Commissioner of Police Anurag Kumar issued an order to denotify Jantar Mantar as a protest site on October 11, reported Bar and Bench.

The police designated three alternative venues for protests: Ramlila Ground in central Delhi, Burari Ground in northern Delhi and CBD Ground in eastern Delhi’s Shahdara area.

The order was issued against the backdrop of protests in the national capital by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, the Opposition parties and student groups to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Protests had also been held in June and July at Jantar Mantar against alleged exam irregularities. The Cockroach Janta Party had started a sit-in demonstration at the protest site on June 20, which continued till July 28. The protest resulted in Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dharmendra Pradhan resigning as the Union education minister.

SC hearing on alternative protest site

On Friday, the Supreme Court asked the Union government to consider designating an alternative venue to Jantar Mantar for peaceful protests in the national capital.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant was hearing a petition challenging restrictions imposed by the authorities ahead of a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party for Saturday.

The court noted that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, had submitted that the authorities would consider identifying a location other than Jantar Mantar for holding protests.

Ahead of Saturday’s protest at Jantar Mantar, the authorities in the national capital imposed extensive restrictions, including putting up barricades, traffic curbs, closures of 45 metro station gates and the suspension of mobile internet services in parts of central Delhi.

The railways had cancelled at least 245 trains beginning and ending at stations in Delhi, The Indian Express reported. Two other trains were rescheduled and nine were short terminated and short originated.

Demands for Kumar’s resignation

Protests against Kumar have been held in Delhi and other parts of the country since October 2.

The protesters have raised concerns after The Indian Express’ September 23 investigation showed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.

According to The Indian Express investigation, Sandhu and Joshi had reportedly objected to changes to Form 6, appeals against the inclusion of voters in West Bengal and the handling of voter data in Goa, among other matters. Form 6 is used to register new voters.

In one written objection, Sandhu was quoted as having stated that the poll panel had acted against the advice of both commissioners and described the action as “unauthorised and illegal”.

The two election commissioners had also raised concerns over access to the digital electoral roll database.

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

The Opposition has also demanded the removal of Kumar.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar and Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read:

• Delhi Police arrested thousands far away from Jantar Mantar. What this legal?
• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar
• How TV channels covered the protests as ‘anarchy’ and ignored the detentions of journalists

The Delhi Police detained at least 11 journalists covering protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for the second consecutive day on Sunday.

Three journalists from The Indian Express Hindi, one from The Caravan, two from Peek TV and at least three journalists working with Malayalam news channels, including Reporter TV, 24 News and Asianet News, were also detained.

Journalist and content creator Shyam Meera Singh was also detained. His account on social media platform X was withheld in India on Sunday. It remained restricted, as of 1.15 pm on Monday.

The Indian Express reported that its journalists Shashwat, Siya and Vijay were detained while reporting from Connaught Place. They were taken to Chhatrasal Stadium and later released, the newspaper reported.

Shyam Meera Singh detained at CP after being heckled and abused by Hindutva activists. @scroll_in pic.twitter.com/5X5R3EJpQu

— Ayush Tiwari (@sighyush) October 11, 2026

On Sunday afternoon, journalists from several media organisations were detained by Delhi Police while they were covering protests near Lady Hardinge Hospital.

Despite wearing their press cards prominently, they were dragged into a bus and taken away.@knowleena reports pic.twitter.com/8iiFI51eTm

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 11, 2026

Breaking: at least six more journalists detained, shoved into a van by Delhi Police as they were asking the cops about the detention of a journalist moments ago at the same location.

As I question the police, one of them tells me: ‘this is not the right time to ask anything’. pic.twitter.com/RYAJqElDYk

— Sreenivasan Jain (@SreenivasanJain) October 11, 2026

Peek TV said its journalists Vedanta Agarwal and Sara Khan were “dragged” and detained by the Delhi Police from Connaught Place while reporting on the detention of protesters, despite showing their press cards.

The Caravan’s journalist Ryan Thomas was detained on Sunday while recording a video of a group of police officers taking a person to a detention bus.

According to the news outlet, the police personnel assaulted Thomas, despite his identifying himself as a journalist. They repeatedly hit him, pressured him to delete his footage and allegedly even tried to break his camera. He was later released and sought medical treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, The Caravan said.

Independent journalist Nidhi Suresh was detained at around 3 pm on Sunday, in the same van as student leader Neha Bora, The News Minute Editor Dhanya Rajendran said on social media.

The Malayalam journalists were also released hours later, Mathrubhumi reported.

Independent journalist M Rajshekhar was held while taking photographs of students being detained in Connaught Place.

On Saturday, Scroll journalists Ayush Tiwari and Shoaib Daniyal were detained in Delhi, and Divya Aslesha in Pune while covering protests demanding the resignation of Kumar.

Journalists from Newslaundry, The Quint, the Navbharat Times, Reuters, Alt News, Boom Live, Molitics and Reporter TV were also detained. They were released later that day.

This is how Delhi Police is treating journalists. Even those who have press badges on them.

Hear the account of the journalist in the next tweet. pic.twitter.com/7uzvno572A

— Supriya Sharma (@sharmasupriya) October 10, 2026

‘Police’s actions against journalists are unacceptable’

On Sunday, global media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontières raised concerns about the “brutal detention” of journalists in India while they were covering the protests.

At least 16 journalists, including Scroll journalists, had been detained, said the organisation.

“Covering events of public interest is not a crime,” the media watchdog said. “It is their job. The police’s actions against the press are unacceptable.”

Digipub News India Foundation, an association of independent digital news organisations and journalists of which Scroll is a member, expressed concern about the conduct of the Delhi Police and the Union government. The police in the national capital report to the Union home ministry.

The news association said that the Supreme Court had on Sunday said that no peaceful, unarmed citizen is to be illegally detained and free movement of people must be ensured. “The order is clear,” Digipub said in a statement. “The response on the ground has been the opposite.”

It added: “Detaining a journalist with a press card and a microphone is not crowd control. It is an attempt to stop the public from seeing what is happening.”

The association said that beating journalists for doing their jobs is a “flagrant disregard” of the Supreme Court’s directions on illegal detention and fundamental rights of citizens.

“Independent and digital journalists appear to be bearing the brunt of this,” Digipub said.

The association demanded that the authorities comply with the court's orders and immediately release all detained journalists.

It also said that all journalists must be provided unhindered access to cover the protests.

The Digipub News India Foundation also sought an independent inquiry into the illegal detentions and the assault on journalists.

The protests have been called by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign and student groups affiliated with Left parties.

Protests have been held in several parts of the country in recent weeks, with demonstrators demanding Kumar’s resignation over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava and Sara Varghese.

Also read: How TV channels covered the protests as ‘anarchy’ and ignored the detentions of journalists

Protests at Ranchi’s Indian Institute of Information Technology entered the third day on Monday over the death by suicide of a first-year student on Saturday.

The student, Adity Kumar, a resident of Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, was “found unconscious” and hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room on Saturday. He died while being taken to hospital, students told Scroll. They allege that the institute failed to respond in time to save the student.

Around 10.30 am on Sunday, the students sat in protest on a road near the hostel, demanding the resignation of the director. The students were forced to leave the area two hours later by the police.

Ranchi (Sadar) Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Besra, who visited the institute, said that a probe was underway to ascertain the reason behind the suicide.

“Preliminary investigation suggests the incident was related to examination related issues,” he said. “The body has been sent for autopsy,” Besra said.

The protesting students are demanding the resignation of the director of the institute, alleging that IIIT Ranchi failed to provide timely medical assistance to the student, who is around 19 years old.

“He could have survived if he had been taken to the hospital on time,” a first-year engineering student told Scroll. “But an ambulance was not available.”

Several students have emailed IIIT Ranchi’s Director Rajeev Srivastava, raising serious concerns about how the institute responded to the incident and the failure of emergency response.

“The ambulance took approximately 15 to 20 minutes to get ready, and it was not equipped with a basic oxygen kit or other essential emergency medical equipment,” the email statement, seen by Scroll, said.

Priyank Kanoongo, member of the National Human Rights Commission, said that the body will take cognisance of the death and allegations that “fellow students tried to take him to the hospital while he was alive but could not do so because of the unavailability of an ambulance on time”.

Students also alleged that no hostel warden was available and the warden’s office was found locked. “Students called faculty members for help, their calls were not answered,” they said in the email statement.

The students also alleged that since the incident, the director, faculty members and wardens have not responded to their attempts to communicate with them.

“The director arrived 14 hours after the incident,” the statement by the students listing their demands said. “The caretakers (appointed by the director) allegedly refused to touch the student (when he was alive).”

Scroll reached out to the IIIT Ranchi Director Rajeev Srivastava for a comment on the allegations. The story will be updated if he responds.

The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that an Indian citizen injured in the attack on the Riyadh airport had died from his injuries, a day after the strike.

Saturday’s attack on the airport killed 13 persons from several countries and injured more than 300, making it the deadliest strike on Saudi Arabia since May 2015, BBC reported.

At least 11 Indians were among the injured, the Indian embassy said, including the one who later died.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi identified the deceased person as Mohammad Yousuf Ali, a resident of Hyderabad.

He was travelling with his family for Islamic pilgrimage Umrah and was waiting at the airport for a flight when the attack took place, The Indian Express reported.

The Indian embassy expressed its condolences to Ali’s family and said it would provide assistance, including facilitating the early repatriation of the body.

The diplomatic mission said that three injured Indians were in intensive care but in stable conditions, two others were admitted to regular hospital wards. Other injured Indians had been discharged.

The others who died included four Saudis, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the United States of America, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, the Saudi civil aviation authority said.

Yemen’s Houthi militant group has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Saudi Arabia in the past 24 hours, including the strike on the Riyadh airport, BBC reported. The group has warned airlines against using Saudi airports or airspace.

The attacks mark an escalation in the conflict between the Iran-backed Houthis, who are seeking to topple Yemen’s internationally recognised government, and Saudi Arabia, which backs the government.

Two Indian seafarers missing after Hormuz attacks

Separately, India on Sunday condemned attacks on two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz region, including a drone strike on the tanker MT Petro Dolphin that left two Indian seafarers missing.

It did not elaborate on who had attacked the ships.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, MT Petro Dolphin had 11 Indian crew members aboard when it was reportedly struck by a drone on Sunday.

Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that nine crew members had been rescued and search operations were underway to find the missing seafarers.

A second vessel, the Marshall Islands-flagged MT Valthera, was struck by an unidentified projectile, resulting in a fire on board, the foreign ministry said.

However, all 11 Indian seafarers on the vessel were reported safe.

“India reiterates the need for immediate de-escalation and a resolution to the ongoing conflict through dialogue and diplomacy,” the ministry said. “Attacks on commercial vessels, seafarers and civilian infrastructure must cease.”

Several ships have been struck in the Strait of Hormuz since the war in West Asia began in February. At least 11 Indian seafarers have died in the attacks.

Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

Maharashtra Public Service Commission aspirants called off their 10-day protest in Pune on Sunday after the panel’s chairman, Vivek Bhimanwar, went on leave pending an inquiry into an alleged question paper leak.

The state government also formed a committee to investigate the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examination, PTI reported.

The panel will be chaired by former Bombay High Court Chief judge Dilip Bhosale, with Indian Administrative Service officer Tukaram Mundhe serving as the secretary, PTI reported.

The probe committee’s other members include serving and retired bureaucrats, and another former High Court judge.

The panel will examine the commission’s functioning, investigate allegations of paper leaks and recommend reforms. It is expected to submit its report within two months, The Indian Express reported.

Thousands of state civil service aspirants had been protesting at Pune’s SM Joshi Bridge since October 2, demanding Bhimanwar’s resignation following the alleged question paper leak and alleged irregularities in the drug inspector recruitment examination held in March.

After the government announced the judicial inquiry, Bhimanwar said that he would go on leave until the probe was completed.

“Throughout my entire life, I have always prioritised ethics,” he said on social media. “Therefore, I have decided to go on leave during this period instead of continuing to serve in the post until this inquiry is completed.”

The government also assured the protesters that other demands would be considered, including the recruitment to 70,000 posts over three years, an increase in vacancies for the Group C examination scheduled for January and the withdrawal of cases against the representatives of the demonstrators, PTI reported.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the developments marked a “big victory” for the students. He said that there will be a full investigation into corruption after “the chairman of MPSC finally had to go”.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

Also read: At Pune’s MPSC protest, angry young aspirants say they have been betrayed by the state

Neha Bora, the president of the All India Students’ Association, was detained on Sunday while leading a protest march in Delhi.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas was detained near Connaught Place. The party alleged that he was assaulted by the police. “He was later dropped by the roadside, visibly injured and in distress,” the party said.

Representatives of Left-affiliated student groups and the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign were also detained on Sunday.

In Mumbai, the Cockroach Janta Party had called for a protest at 4 pm, but demonstrators were not allowed to assemble near Shivaji Park and were being detained at Dadar station itself. Some were detained even for walking in the area.

The Cockroach Janta Party had called for a protest in Mumbai at 4 pm, but demonstrators were not allowed to assemble near Shivaji Park and were being detained from Dadar station itself.

Some were detained even for walking in the area.@tabassum_b reports pic.twitter.com/uE5xWQiyG1

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 11, 2026

The police action came after the Cockroach Janta Party and Left groups had called for fresh protests in Delhi on Sunday, a day after thousands of protesters, Opposition leaders, activists, lawyers and journalists were held across the capital.

The demonstrations were organised to demand Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court passed an interim order directing that people peacefully assembling to protest must not be detained “except save by law”.

Here’s more on this and other updates:

Protests curbed in Mumbai, Pune, Goa

• In Mumbai, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leaders and other protesters had gathered outside the Shiv Sena Bhawan. As police started detaining them, Uddhav Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray climbed atop a police van to stop it from taking away the protesters.

Uddhav Sena leader Aditya Thackeray climbs onto a police van to stop it from taking away the protestors who were protesting outside Shiv Sena Bhawan in Mumbai.@tabassum_b reports pic.twitter.com/bZsh3bxgiq

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 11, 2026

• In Pune as well several protesters were detained and taken to Shivaji Nagar police station for taking part in the protests against Kumar.
• In Goa demonstrators were reportedly not allowed to enter Azad Maidan, with the police saying they did not have permission to hold the protest.
• Bora was detained while leading a protest march from RK Ashram Marg to Connaught Place in Delhi, videos posted online showed. Protesters had been “badly beaten”, the All India Students’ Association alleged.
• In a video posted from the bus she was detained in, Bora alleged that the male protesters were verbally abused and kicked by the police. “There are four small cells in this bus,” Bora said. “Six to eight women protesters have been put in one cell.”

Are detention buses the new jails? pic.twitter.com/XFxcGxUVGg

— Neha (@neha_aisa) October 11, 2026

• The Cockroach Janta Party alleged that its representatives were detained by the police near Connaught Place. The campaign had called for a march to Jantar Mantar, saying it will continue its agitation until its demands are met.
• About 50 to 60 members of Left groups, were detained by the police as they attempted to march from Rajiv Chowk Metro station towards Janpath on the second consecutive day of protests in the national capital demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, The Hindu reported. Waves of protests have been held in the city against Kumar since October 2.

"Gyanesh Kumar Ko Jail Bhejo...Gyanesh Kumar, Istifa Do."

Young protestors from Disha Students’ Organisation and other groups march in Connaught Place in Delhi, demanding the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation. @knowleena reports pic.twitter.com/PfvtPsQOCq

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 11, 2026

CJP leaders released

• Earlier on Sunday, a Delhi court ordered the release of Cockroach Janta Party leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on the condition that they do not breach the peace for one year, the campaign’s legal head Ratna Singh said.
• The three were detained from an aircraft shortly after it landed in Delhi on Saturday ahead of protests demanding Kumar’s resignation.

Press bodies condemn detentions

• The Press Club of India, the Indian Women’s Press Corps, the Delhi Union of Journalists and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists’ Delhi unit in a joint statement condemned the detention and harassment of journalists covering the protests, The New Indian Express reported.
• They said some reporters were detained despite displaying press identity cards and alleged that phones and reporting equipment were seized. The organisations have sought a public apology from Delhi Police and an inquiry.
• “Press freedom in India cannot be conditional on PIB [Press Information Bureau] accreditation,” the statement added. “A large section of digital and independent media does not have PIB cards, yet they are recognised press under the law.”

Also read: Scroll’s Ayush Tiwari, Shoaib Daniyal detained in Delhi, Divya Aslesha in Pune during CEC protests

Dhruv Rathee, Mumbai protesters released

• YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was released from Gurugram Police custody in the early hours of Sunday, The Indian Express reported.
• In a video posted after his release, Rathee said that he was not detained and rather “kidnapped by goons” on Saturday morning. He said that around 20 persons in plain clothes forcibly entered his residence at 7 am. He claimed that totally there “were more than 50 men in plainclothes around my house”.
• Rathee further claimed that the men snatched his parents’ and his mobile phone, and did not allow him to talk to his lawyer. “Narendra Modi has turned this country into a dictatorship,” Rathee said. “This is a state of unofficial emergency.”
• The Delhi Police have also released all persons from detention centres except the three CJP leaders, ANI quoted unidentified police officials as saying.
• In Mumbai, about 600 protesters who had been detained during demonstrations in solidarity of the Delhi agitation were released from police stations by night, The Times of India reported. Among the prominent persons who were detained were Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and actor Imran Khan, PTI reported.
• The Gamdevi Police have registered a first information report naming 12 persons including Tushar Gandhi, and booked more than 300 unidentified people under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to disobedience of public orders, wrongful restraint and unlawful assembly, The Times of India reported.

Traffic restrictions to continue in Delhi

• Delhi Police has issued a traffic advisory warning of diversions across central parts of the national capital from 6 am on Sunday, depending on the law and order situation.
• Restrictions will affect 30 locations, including Connaught Place, Jantar Mantar Road, Mandi House, Patel Chowk and areas around Rail Bhawan, all of which are near the Jantar Mantar protest site.
• The Northern Railways has announced that train services will return to their normal schedules from Sunday, ANI reported.
• The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation also said the entry and exit gates of all metro stations had reopened on Saturday night after 45 stations had been closed since 9 pm on Friday.
• On Saturday, along with central Delhi, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs suspended internet services in eight other locations that were designated as temporary detention centres, the Hindustan Times quoted a government order as saying. These locations were: Chhatrasal Stadium in Model Town, Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana, the Yamuna Sports Complex in east Delhi, the Jasola Sports Complex in Sarita Vihar, a community centre in Daulatpur, two community centres in Chhawla, Jangli Ram Stadium in Kanjhawala and Surajmal Stadium in Nangloi.

India rejects UN concerns over detentions

• The United Nations Human Rights Office expressed concern over mass detentions and said restrictions on peaceful protests “must meet strict tests of necessity and proportionality”. It called for the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained.
• India’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected the concerns, calling them “unwarranted” and an “unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of India”.
• The ministry said the right to peaceful assembly was guaranteed by the Constitution and accused the UN body of “extreme selectivity” in its public statements. Read more on this here.
• Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta accused the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, Left groups and the Cockroach Janta Party of trying to turn the national capital “into a battleground” in the name of protest. “Why, after all, are these leaders so hell-bent on venting the frustration of their nonstop defeats on the public?” she asked.
• Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of undermining democracy through alleged election manipulation and “crushing the voice of the people”. “Mogambo Modi and his associates, who have destroyed India's democracy and constitution, will not escape,” he said.

Flash protests continue at #CentralPark in Delhi despite police detentions.@knowleena reports#CECprotest pic.twitter.com/f46WT9k1zK

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 11, 2026

Young women are hauled away by Pune Police personnel during a protest by the Lokshahi Adhikar Sangharsh Samiti, outside the historic Shaniwarwada on October 10.

At least 100 protesters, including women students, were detained and put into vans by the Pune Police before they… pic.twitter.com/FBDsSvu7Qr

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 10, 2026

Follow Scroll’s coverage of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls here.

The trigger for this round of protests was a September 23 investigation by The Indian Express, which revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge. You can read more here about the report and why the exercise is controversial.

Also read:

• SIR explained: Why the voter role revision has become so controversial

• ‘Dragged out of train’: Pune students detained while on way to Delhi protest against Gyanesh Kumar

A contentious exercise

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the exercise, but said that it does not mean that the Election Commission can decide on whether the person is an Indian citizen.

Despite this, Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states have cited the SIR to deny ration cards to those who have been eliminated from the rolls. In some cases, the police have denied permission for their passports to be renewed.

Inputs from Nolina Minj, Tabassum Barnagarwala and Divya Aslesha. Edited by Sara Varghese, Nachiket Deuskar and Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read:

• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar
• ‘Citizens being silenced’: What ordinary Indians think of the crackdown on the Delhi protests
• How TV channels covered the protests as ‘anarchy’ and ignored the detentions of journalists
• Watch: True Story: Why Gyanesh Kumar’s exit may not end the rigging of Indian elections

An eight-week online entrepreneurship bootcamp launched by Harvard Business School lets participants pitch a start-up idea to an artificial-intelligence avatar modelled on a real professor.

The HBS Foundry programme, designed to train aspiring entrepreneurs, costs $699, or roughly Rs 67,000. Participants are taken through the entire process of building a start-up, from refining an idea to pitching it to investors and customers.

The programme combines course material from Harvard Business School, AI agents trained on faculty expertise, a community of fellow entrepreneurs and simulated video conversations with AI avatars. The plan is to take Harvard’s entrepreneurship training to far more than the roughly 900 students the business school admits each year – and there are many takers, according to The New York Times.

The HBS Foundry programme raises questions about the future of higher education and the role of teachers. For India, programmes like HBS Foundry offer the expertise of renowned teachers from prestigious universities. Foreign universities that have opened campuses in India could likewise use AI avatars of their distinguished members to teach students.

Could AI professors address the shortage of quality teachers and education infrastructure in India? For instance, a survey of schools in 10 states by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences found a shortage of teachers for mathematics and science. It also noted an increase in multi-grade classrooms in government schools in rural areas, where teachers taught students from different classes together.

Students from any part of the country could have the opportunity to interact with an AI avatar created by a teacher whose direct teaching they would otherwise have no access to. When compared to listening to a teacher’s recorded lecture, students may find it easier to learn with the teacher’s AI avatar.

Katharina Rings, the HBS Foundry director, told The New York Times that during trial runs, users become more interested when what were initially designed as chatbot advisors were given the appearance of a professor. The HBS Foundry avatars imitate the knowledge and intellectual authority of professors as well as their gestures and mannerisms in the classroom. Universities have acquired their reputations partly because of the teaching of a handful of celebrated professors. Harvard is now drawing upon that academic prestige in marketing Foundry.

The technology derives its appeal from the very human beings it is ostensibly poised to replace. Are teachers becoming dispensable – like professionals in many other fields?

The experience of online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic offers some insights. Those with access to high-speed internet, devices, electricity and adequate digital skills will benefit more from this technology. A new “AI divide” could emerge alongside the digital divide. In the context of education in Indian languages too, the lack of high-quality AI educational content could widen the existing inequality, especially between upper-caste and middle-class students with access to English.

But there is something in the relationship between a teacher and a student that cannot be easily simulated by technology. One of my students told me that the “vibe” of sitting in front of a teacher in a physical classroom was absent from online classes.

Some surveys found that in the absence of a human teacher’s physical presence in the classroom, students would fall asleep or get distracted during online classes.

Human teachers still provide a unique classroom experience – however precarious their position is becoming. A teacher is often a formative presence in a student’s life, The warmth, trust and sense of personal connection that grow between teacher and student are difficult to reproduce through an AI avatar.

The advent of the AI avatar could push human teachers to rethink how they impart knowledge to learners. AI avatars can provide information, but only a teacher, drawing on their unique knowledge and perception, can push students to think critically, make connections and encourage broader discussions.

Teachers will have to become facilitators of social development of their students, performing the role of mentors and friends. So far, at least, an AI avatar is incapable of performing these functions.

The evidence from Harvard suggests that even sophisticated AI needs a human professor from whom to learn how to be a professor. Thomas Eisenmann, one of HBS Foundry professors, spoke of this paradox to The New York Times, noting that students “love AI. They use AI. They’re learning a lot. But it keeps coming back to humanity”.

Angshuman Kar is Professor of English at The University of Burdwan and a well-known Bengali poet-cum-novelist.

Protesters in parts of Maharashtra and Goa faced police restrictions and detentions on Sunday while seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

In Mumbai, the Cockroach Janta Party had called for a protest at 4 pm, but demonstrators were not allowed to assemble near Shivaji Park. Some were detained at Dadar station itself, while others were detained even for walking near the area.

Mumbai Police begin detaining Shiv Sena leaders and local protestors who were protesting outside Shiv Sena Bhawan.@tabassum_b reports pic.twitter.com/OPH3vGcO30

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 11, 2026

The Mumbai Police also detained Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leaders and local protesters who were demonstrating outside Shiv Sena Bhawan. Uddhav Sena leader Aditya Thackeray climbed onto a police van in an attempt to stop it from taking away the protesters.

Uddhav Sena leader Aditya Thackeray climbs onto a police van to stop it from taking away the protestors who were protesting outside Shiv Sena Bhawan in Mumbai.@tabassum_b reports pic.twitter.com/bZsh3bxgiq

— Scroll.in (@scroll_in) October 11, 2026

In Pune, about 80 to 100 protesters, including members of Left groups, were detained during a demonstration at Good Luck Chowk. A protester told Scroll over the phone that those detained were taken in police vans to Shivajinagar Police Station. People later gathered outside the station, shouting slogans and demanding their release.

All protesters were released by night.

In Goa, protesters were prevented from entering Azad Maidan in Panaji, where a demonstration had been scheduled. The main gates were locked and a police battalion was deployed around the venue.

Protestors have gathered outside Azad Maidan in Goa’s Panjim. Police not letting them enter the site saying protestors do not have permission pic.twitter.com/m7fKM85cr3

— Shreya Raman (@shreyaraman18) October 11, 2026

Some protesters who climbed over the low wall around Azad Maidan were detained by the police.

On Saturday, about 600 protesters were detained in Mumbai during demonstrations held in solidarity with the agitation in Delhi. They were released later that night. Among those detained were Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and actor Imran Khan.

The trigger for this round of protests was a September 23 investigation by The Indian Express, which revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the poll panel related to the special intensive revision, saying some had been taken without their knowledge. You can read more here about the report and why the exercise is controversial.

A contentious exercise

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the exercise, but said that it does not mean that the Election Commission can decide on whether the person is an Indian citizen.

Despite this, Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states have cited the SIR to deny ration cards to those who have been eliminated from the rolls. In some cases, the police have denied permission for their passports to be renewed.

Inputs from Divya Aslesha. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Follow the coverage of the protests against CEC here.

On October 2, Maharashtra is set to begin issuing the Women Farmers Certificates under the newly enacted Women Farmer’s Empowerment Act 2026. The certificates will formally recognise women engaged in agriculture or allied activities as farmers, even when they do not own the land.

The Women Farmers Certificates will open doors for lakhs of women who sow, tend, harvest and manage our agri-foods systems, as well as livestock, poultry and fisheries, but are often left out of the formal definition of a farmer. Maharashtra has shown political will and a clear sense of urgency in bringing women farmers’ needs into the spotlight and leading by example.

Feminisation of agriculture

We have been witnessing feminisation of agriculture for some time now. As men move to non-farm jobs, women have increasingly taken up the role of managing and maintaining the agricultural lands.

But this has often meant more responsibility without a corresponding rise in control, assets or decision-making power. Without land titles, they also struggle to access critical resources such as credit, water, technology and extension services, reducing them to labourers in a sector they largely sustain.

Nationally, women make up close to 60% of the agricultural workforce as reported by the Periodic Labour Force Survey and shared by the Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Ramnath Thakur recently in Parliament, but they hold less than 15% of land titles.

In Maharashtra, 82% of the rural female workforce is engaged in agriculture, yet women hold only about 15.5% of operational farmland. Empowering women farmers through law is therefore an important first step.

Maharashtra has often demonstrated the change that can follow with such empowerment. For instance, in Vidarbha, one of the regions most affected by agrarian crisis, the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation worked with women farmers in Wardha and Yavatmal districts under the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana initiative, which went on to become a national programme under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.

It focused on vulnerable groups, including widows of farmers affected by agrarian distress. The programme combined sustainable agriculture practices with leadership training and collective organisation in the form of local collectives, or samitis, enhanced their access to knowledge, resources, and institutional support. Gradually, it helped women assert their identity as farmers rather than invisible workers.

The lessons from Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana were clear: when women receive support, agriculture becomes stronger. Women farmers are quick adopters of practical solutions, despite their lack of formal education. Training in climate-resilient farming, resource management, and drudgery-reducing technologies is not merely technical, it is deeply empowering for them. When scientific knowledge is combined with women’s own lived experience, better decisions follow.

Collective institutions also matter. Agricultural markets, particularly mandis, are still male-dominated spaces. Women also frequently face barriers such as poor mobility, lack of market and price information, and inadequate infrastructure, such as storage and processing facilities. This pushes them into distress sales through middlemen. Self-Help Groups, cooperatives, and Farmer Producer Organisations, can help women overcome these barriers by improving access to credit, inputs, markets and leadership opportunities.

Over the years, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation has done extensive work with collectives such as Farmer Producer Organisations and Self-Help Groups across several states. The impact of these efforts is visible on the ground. Support for diversified livelihoods including livestock rearing, fisheries, and value-added processing has improved incomes and enhanced resilience. Women-led enterprises in post-harvest processing have created new routes to financial independence. As women gain recognition for their economic role, the larger promise of gender justice moves closer.

Climate change makes the case for women farmers even stronger. With fewer assets and weaker safety nets, women are often the first to feel the impact of drought, heat and crop loss. Yet, they are also among the strongest drivers of adaptation. Programmes in climate-resilient agriculture show that when women combine traditional wisdom with modern science, they can lead sustainable resource management from seed conservation to eco-friendly farming practices.

Maharashtra takes lead

The journey towards the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Act began with a meeting with the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in September 2025. Soon after, the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation and the Maharashtra government formalised a partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding to work together towards this objective.

The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation then formed a technical advisory group, and the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy came on board as the legal drafting partner.

What makes this legislation significant is the process through which it has been shaped. Women farmers were at the heart of the consultations, alongside civil society organisations, farmers network, bankers, lawyers, researchers and frontline government officials.

The consultations began in Mumbai in January 2026 and continued through regional meetings in Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Nagpur. Each round of consultation brought new feedback and suggestions, helping shape and strengthen the draft Bill.

The women farmers spoke about how they were unable to access many government schemes and subsidies as initiatives under the Agricultural Technology Management Agency, and others are linked to land ownership. Access to schemes such as subsidised pumps, irrigation subsidies, crop insurance, livestock insurance, Kisan Credit Card, and access to agricultural credit were hard to come by. They also spoke about being left out of the Agristack, the digital database for farmers that is based on land records alone.

Other suggestions included lowering interest rates for credit taken in women’s names or amending the existing Lakshmi Mukti Yojna to incentivise families to add women’s names on family land records. They highlighted that PM-KISAN Yojna is meant to benefit farmer families, however, requires a farmer ID that is usually linked with men’s bank accounts, thereby reducing women’s direct access to such benefits. After several rounds of discussion and revision, the Bill was approved by the Cabinet and tabled in the Legislative Assembly during the monsoon session.

On July 2, 2026, the bill was passed unanimously in the Legislative Assembly and subsequently in the Legislative Council. From the first meeting in September 2025 to the unanimous passage of the Bill in July 2026, the process took just 10 months. It is a powerful example of what can happen when political will and a clear understanding of why empowering women matters.

Key highlights of the act

The Act broadens the definition of agriculture and farmer to include any person who is engaged in crop husbandry, animal husbandry, poultry, fishery, agroforestry, vermiculture, mushroom cultivation, primary processing, etc. either as owner or labourer.

Defining “farmer” was crucial: it had to go beyond land-based cultivators to include the many ways women actually work in agriculture. The National Policy for Farmers (2007) offers a more holistic definition, centred on the work performed rather than on land ownership. Using this definition allowed focus on what women do in farming, not just what they own.

The Act also makes provision for a Women Farmer Empowerment Cell at the State level, a State Level Monitoring Committee to oversee and monitor implementation of the law, a Women Farmers’ Database that includes information of every woman farmer to whom a WFC has been issued, and Women Farmers’ Assistance Officers at each district and block of the State to assist women in obtaining Women Farmers Certificates and guide on other entitlements.

For many rural women in Maharashtra, the Act can enable extension and training in climate-resilient practices that improve both productivity and nutrition, skill acquisition and access to entitlements.

What is available under existing schemes must be ensured, and new schemes will also have to be designed. The certificate alone might not remove the barriers that have existed for decades. If the policies and systems governing services like credit, insurance, government programmes, and market opportunities, recognise women as farmers and accept the certificate as proof of their farmer status, a truly new chapter can begin for them.

But more importantly, this Act will change who we see as a “farmer”.

For too long, the image of a farmer has been that of a man working in a field, even though the reality is far more diverse. A farmer is also a woman working in the field. A farmer is also a woman or man engaged in poultry, fisheries, livestock rearing, beekeeping and a range of other activities that drive our food systems.

However, recognition alone is not the same as ownership. For this Act to bring in real transformation, states must embed gender-equitable land governance within their revenue and land administration frameworks, including the provision and enforcement of joint land titles.

Legal rights over land ensure decision-making authority even when the woman exits agricultural work, marries again, or no longer resides within the household – all of which remains outside the scope of the WFC. It provides women with negotiating power from a position grounded in entitlement rather than conditional support.

Delinking a farmer’s identity from land ownership is an important first step. The next crucial step is to build awareness about the law and the entitlements the Act provides. As Maharashtra prepares to issue the first Women Farmers Certificates, we must hear from the ground how women farmers are using these new rights and opportunities to improve their lives and livelihoods.

The real test will be in the implementation of the certification system to offer a pathway to stronger rights rather than serving as an end point in itself. The task now is to ensure that the Act translates into meaningful change on the ground, and its success inspires others states to follow Maharashtra’s lead.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan is the Chair at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.

This article was first published on Mongabay.

The Cockroach Janta Party on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of shielding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, as its leaders addressed their first press conference after being released from detention, The Hindu reported.

Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained on Saturday, minutes after their flights landed at Delhi Airport ahead of protests demanding Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. A Delhi court on Sunday ordered their release on the condition that they do not breach the peace for one year.

During the press conference, CJP leader Saurav Das alleged that the government was suppressing peaceful dissent to protect the chief election commissioner and said the country was being pushed towards a “civil-war-like situation”.

“The state is at war with its own citizens,” Das said. He also accused the government of targeting journalists during the protests.

“The government has completely lost it…,” Das said. “All to protect Gyanesh Kumar, who is traitor number one. The government is scared that these youth who are awakened will seek answers. Hence, they are resorting to violence.”

“The entire country is facing an emergency-like situation,” he said.

On the detention of the CJP leaders, Das alleged that the police had forcibly seized their phones and did not provide them with a seizure memo.

A seizure memo is an official document prepared by authorities to record the confiscation of property, cash, documents, or digital devices during a search.

He said the police had kept their phones for more than 24 hours and alleged that the devices might have been hacked or cloned.

“We think they hacked our phones or cloned them,” he said. “Like they have done to other activists in the past, maybe they planted evidence and this is a very rational and reasonable doubt.”

Das also alleged that the CJP leaders were not allowed to meet their lawyers.

He urged the youth across India to stage peaceful protests in their cities.

Meanwhile, the CJP and student groups affiliated with Left parties have called for fresh protests in Delhi on Sunday, a day after thousands of protesters, Opposition leaders, activists, lawyers and journalists were detained across the capital. The campaign has also called for a protest in Mumbai at 4 pm.

Among those detained on Saturday were former Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, as well as journalists, including Scroll reporters Ayush Tiwari and Shoaib Daniyal in Delhi and Divya Aslesha in Pune.

The Delhi Police had released all detainees on Saturday night except the CJP leaders.

A contentious exercise

Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes, as Scroll has reported.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the exercise, but said that it does not mean that the Election Commission can decide on whether the person is an Indian citizen.

Despite this, Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states have cited the SIR to deny ration cards to those who have been eliminated from the rolls. In some cases, the police have denied permission for their passports to be renewed.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read:

• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar
• ‘Citizens being silenced’: What ordinary Indians think of the crackdown on the Delhi protests
• How TV channels covered the protests as ‘anarchy’ and ignored the detentions of journalists
• Watch: True Story: Why Gyanesh Kumar’s exit may not end the rigging of Indian elections

Four men seen assaulting persons protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi on Saturday have been arrested, The Hindu quoted an unidentified police officer as saying.

The men purportedly claimed to be members of the Hindutva organisation Hindu Rakshak Dal.

A widely shared video of the incident shows a man beating a male protester while a woman tries to stop him. It also shows another man hitting a woman and pushing her to the ground, while a police officer can be seen at the spot.

The police took suo moto cognisance of the incident based on the video, The Indian Express quoted an unidentified police officer as saying.

The persons accused in the case have been identified as Raman Saini (50), Vivekanand alias Vivek (32), Kapil Kumar (27) and Ravinder Singh alias Govind Hindu (35).

The incident took place on a stretch of DDU Marg under the jurisdiction of Kamla Market Police Station, the newspaper reported.

DEEPLY DISTURBING!

BJP-RSS goons beating a young girl in the presence of Delhi Police, with an officer seemingly guiding them to stop the recording.

Why is Delhi Police helping goons attack peaceful protestors instead of protecting them? Who gave them this free hand? pic.twitter.com/2JeT40wrx2

— Cockroach Janta Party - CJP (@Cockroachisback) October 10, 2026

The Cockroach Janta Party, which also shared the video on social media, described the incident as “deeply disturbing”. It alleged that the men assaulting the protesters were “goons” of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The political campaign also accused the Delhi Police of helping the “goons” instead of protecting the protesters.

“BJP-RSS goons beating a young girl in the presence of Delhi Police, with an officer seemingly guiding them to stop the recording,” the political campaign said in a social media post.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also shared a screenshot from the video and said the Delhi Police, which comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs headed by Union minister Amit Shah, had “descended into thuggery”.

He added that the police were openly “giving license and encouragement” to the “real goons of RSS-BJP” to unleash violence against women and youth.

अमित शाह की दिल्ली पुलिस खुद तो गुंडागर्दी पर उतर ही आई - RSS-BJP के असली गुंडों को भी महिलाओं और युवाओं पर हिंसा करने की खुली छूट और बढ़ावा दे रही है।

जैसा मैंने कहा था, Mogambo Modi और उसकी सरकार जितना दबाएगी, Gen Z और छात्रों का गुस्सा उतना ही बढ़ेगा।

सोमवार, 12 अक्टूबर को… pic.twitter.com/UNAKSDwdxJ

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 10, 2026

The protest on Saturday had been called by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign and student groups affiliated with Left parties. Protests have been held in several parts of the country in recent weeks, calling for Kumar’s resignation over concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission and its handling of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Protest against Gyanesh Kumar

Ahead of the demonstration on Saturday, the police imposed several restrictions to deter protesters from gathering in the national capital, in what the organisers described as intimidation by the authorities. The measures include detaining persons, cancelling trains, closing 45 metro stations and suspending mobile internet in central Delhi.

Among the thousands detained were former Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, as well as journalists, including Scroll reporters Ayush Tiwari and Shoaib Daniyal in Delhi and Divya Aslesha in Pune.

Activists and lawyers, including activists Neha Bora, Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan and Jean Drèze, were also detained, along with other Opposition leaders and protesters.

The Delhi Police have released all detainees. The Cockroach Janta Party and Left groups have called for fresh protests in the national capital on Sunday.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read: ‘Citizens being silenced’: What ordinary Indians think of the crackdown on the Delhi protests

The Supreme Court on Sunday passed an interim order directing that people peacefully assembling to protest must not be illegally detained “except save by law”, The Hindu reported.

It directed that metro and railway services function normally, internet services remain undisturbed in accordance with law, and free movement of people and traffic be permitted in Delhi, Live Law reported.

The court also directed that lawyers must not be obstructed from discharging their professional duties.

A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing petitions challenging the detention of protesters and restrictions on public transport during Saturday’s demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

During the hearing, lawyers alleged that the police had detained persons beyond the area covered by restrictions that prohibited gatherings, suspended internet services and prevented lawyers from moving freely and discharging their professional duties, The Hindu reported.

Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, who petitioned the court over the detentions, questioned whether a state of emergency had effectively been imposed, the newspaper reported. She argued that young persons had taken to the streets because they believed “the electoral system was not free and fair”.

Advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that protesters were being picked up from trains and from outside the four-kilometre area covered by prohibitory orders.

However, in response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta claimed before the court that there had been “no curtailment” of metro services on Saturday, The Hindu reported.

“Zero reduction in the total volume of metro,” he was quoted as saying. “Entry and exit regulations restricted to 45 stations. If one station is closed, the neighbouring one was open.”

The hearing followed extensive restrictions imposed across the capital on Saturday, including barricades, traffic curbs, closures of 45 metro station gates and the suspension of mobile internet services in parts of central Delhi.

The railways had cancelled at least 245 trains beginning and ending at stations in Delhi, The Indian Express reported. Two other trains were rescheduled and nine were short terminated and short originated.

Initially, the authorities had planned to close 57 metro stations on Saturday. Following this, the Supreme Court had on Friday directed that there cannot be a complete shutdown of metro services or other public transport ahead of the protests.

On Sunday, the bench said it had taken note of the alleged violations of its earlier order.

It directed the authorities to submit a short affidavit to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated, Live Law reported.

The case will be heard next on Tuesday.

Edited by Sara Varghese and Nachiket Deuskar.

Also read:

• How Modi put Delhi under siege to protect Gyanesh Kumar
• ‘Citizens being silenced’: What ordinary Indians think of the crackdown on the Delhi protests
• How TV channels covered the protests as ‘anarchy’ and ignored the detentions of journalists