Election Commission dissent sparks Opposition call for CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal

Opposition parties on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) sought the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar after an Indian Express ‘expose’ claimed that two of the three Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, formally recorded objections at least 14 times over ten months, saying major decisions were being made in the name of the full Election Commission without their knowledge — several of which they called “unauthorised and illegal.”

Minister in CEC-EC selection panel fails ‘perception test’, says Justice Datta in split verdict

Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Datta on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) agreed that the replacement of the Chief Justice of India with a Union Cabinet Minister in the Prime Minister-led selection panel for Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) prima facie amounts to an “effective veto” in favour of the Union government and fails the “perception test”, sending wrong signals to the public. Justice Datta reminded that it is well-settled in law that independence in the appointment and functioning of the Election Commissioners was integral to free and fair elections and an essential part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution.

IIT-Bombay student death: ACP-rank officer tasked with Crime Branch probe

An ACP-rank officer of the Mumbai Crime Branch has been entrusted with the investigation into the death of second-year Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay student Sahil Ravindra Wakode, with the probe being supervised by DCP Detection-I, Mumbai Police said on Wednesday (September 23, 2026). The case, initially registered at Powai Police Station as C.R. No. 999/2026, has been transferred to the Crime Branch and registered as DCB CID C.R. No. 124/2026, according to a press advisory issued by DCP Detection Raj Tilak Roshan.

SC stops short of fixing time limit for Speaker Birla in disqualification proceedings against TMC rebel MPs

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) stopped short of requiring Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to give a specific time line for completing the disqualification proceedings pending against 20 rebel Trinamool Congress party MPs who have aligned themselves with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a plea filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee contending that Speaker Birla was delaying disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law.

Supreme Court to examine Bar Council’s authority to regulate legal education

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) decided to examine the authority of the Bar Council of India (BCI) to control and regulate legal education imparted in law colleges and national universities. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, heading a three-judge Bench, questioned how the BCI, a regulator of the legal profession, could be considered an expert on legal education when there were domain experts and legal academicians.

If CEC allowed elections to be rigged it’s ‘treason’: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) said that if CEC Gyanesh Kumar was aware of elections being rigged and allowed it to happen, then its “treachery to the nation” and “an act of treason”. The Congress MP from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency said that whosoever is doing it “has to be taken to task”. Ms. Vadra, speaking to reporters at Nilambur, said that her brother and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was continuously taking up the issue of the “biases and the injustice that is going on through the Election Commission of India (ECI)”.

‘Vote chori’ direct attack on Constitution; BJP, RSS, EC committed act of treason: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) said “vote chori” is a direct attack on the Constitution, and the BJP, the RSS and the Election Commission, which organised it have committed an act of treason. “Justice will be served,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. Mr. Gandhi’s assertions came after The Indian Express revealed that questions were repeatedly raised on issues related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls within the three-member Election Commission (EC) by two of the three election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

Mamata demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s arrest, fresh Bengal Assembly polls with pre-SIR voter list

Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) demanded the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and fresh Assembly elections in the State with the pre-SIR voter list, alleging that the BJP and the poll panel had “looted” the polls held earlier this year.

Delhi L-G orders park safety audit, Pink Police deployment after Astha Kunj gang rape

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) directed a safety audit of all city parks and deployment of Pink Police personnel around their premises following the gang rape of a teenage girl at a park in southeast Delhi’s Kalkaji area. Mr. Sandhu met the Delhi Police Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Vice-Chairman, the L-G Office said in a post on X.

Sustainability must be backed by measurable outcomes, practical action: Tamil Nadu Minister V.K. Rajeev

Sustainability must move beyond discussion and translate into practical action; the Tamil Nadu government’s vision for green transition is to ensure that sustainability leads to tangible improvement in people’s daily lives, V.K. Rajeev, Minister for Environment and Climate Change, said at the inauguration of The Hindu Sustainability Summit 2026 in Chennai on Wednesday (September 23, 2026). Pointing out that such summits would serve as a platform to arrive at practical solutions, Mr. Rajeev underlined the Tamil Nadu government’s vision for a sustainable environment. Coastal resilience was one of the priorities of the government, he said.

‘Super El Niño’ projected to cause 15,800 additional heat deaths in India, says report

India could see an estimated 15,800 additional heat-related deaths, give or take 1,600, between September 2026 and February 2027, as the current ‘Super El Niño’ drives unusually high temperatures, according to a report made public on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) by the Climate Impact Lab. The estimate is relative to average conditions during the corresponding months from 1996-2025.

Five crore Indian children still lack access to sanitation service in their schools, says UN report

India had the highest number of children with no sanitation service in schools, with 50 million out of the world total of 244 million as of 2025, according to a new global report. Only Nigeria (34 million), Ethiopia (26 million), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11 million) or Indonesia (8 million) had a comparatively large number of schoolchildren who had no access to sanitation service. The data from ‘Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools 2015-2025’ shows the progress as well as the challenges India is facing in meeting the water, sanitation and hygiene goals that are part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set for 2030.

Hope for progress after U.S., Iran hold first shuttle talks in months

The first shuttle talks between the United States and Iran for months raised hopes on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) that the adversaries could make some progress towards ending the West Asia war, although neither side spelled out any change in their positions. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicated through mediators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the first such contacts since an interim ceasefire agreement collapsed in July.

Taiwan watches Xi-Trump meeting closely, hopes US arms sales continue

As China’s Xi Jinping arrives in Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, Taiwan expressed confidence that U.S. arms sales to the island that Beijing claims as its own will continue — despite China’s pressure. China has pressed Washington to halt the arms sales, most prominently during a summit in May between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi in Beijing. After that meeting, the United States paused the sale of a record-breaking $14 billion package — Mr. Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China.

Russian attacks injure 7 across Ukraine and damage structures

Russia launched strikes at businesses and storage facilities in Ukraine overnight, injuring seven people across the country, according to local authorities. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) that its forces overnight carried out “group strikes” using drones on Ukraine’s “military-industrial and energy sector facilities, logistics centres and maritime vessels.”

Banks to remain open on Sunday for customers’ convenience in view of proposed nationwide strike

In view of the proposed nationwide bank strike by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) from September 28 to 30, 2026, the government has announced that all Public Sector Banks and Regional Rural Banks will operate normally on Sunday (September 27, 2026). The UFBU, which claims to represent 90% of the banking workforce, is set to go on a three-day strike beginning September 28, primarily seeking a 5-day banking week, among other demands.

Asian Games 2026 | Indian men’s badminton team settles for bronze after 1-3 loss to China

Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty faltered against their higher-ranked opponents as the Indian men’s team signed off with a bronze medal after going down 1-3 to nemesis China in the semifinals of the Asian Games. India had won the silver medal at the last edition in Hangzhou in 2023, where they had also lost to China in the final. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were the only Indians to win a match as China once again got the better of India.