The Supreme Court will hear on October 5 pleas seeking the suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid controversy over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, will hear petitions filed by Rakesh Kumar Singh and advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi. The pleas allege that Kumar took certain decisions and made software changes without the consent of the other Election Commissioners. They also challenge changes to Form 6, including requirements related to voters’ ancestral details. The Election Commission has denied the allegations, saying decisions are taken unanimously. (PC: HT)

At least 500 people were detained in central Delhi on Sunday as an AISA-backed march demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar entered its third day. Protesters began from Andhra Bhavan around 4 p.m. but were stopped by barricades at the Shangri-La intersection, where clashes broke out.   Those detained included AISA president Neha and a woman journalist who had alleged sexual harassment by a police officer at Saturday's protest. Neha was later released from Narela Industrial Area police station. Protesters alleged manhandling during detentions. No police response was reported. The march also demanded the SIR be scrapped. (PC: X)

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has alleged a "criminal conspiracy" to delete eligible voters from electoral rolls, claiming BJP workers misused Form 7. He told India Today TV that minorities, backward castes and oppressed sections were being targeted.   The claim follows a report that a Muslim family in Bengaluru's Ulsoor said a local BJP leader sought deletion of eight members' names. Shivakumar alleged lakhs of forms were circulated, with some people signing 100 to 300 each.   The Election Commission's draft rolls show 1.07 crore names removed in the state. He has sought booth-wise probes. The BJP's response to the allegations was not part of the report. (PC: India Today)

A protest in Delhi on Sunday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar turned tense, with demonstrators breaking barricades and blocking buses carrying detainees. AAP workers, along with members of NSUI, AISA and other student groups, tried to move towards Jantar Mantar as police and the Rapid Action Force were deployed.   Police said at least 25 AAP workers were detained, including Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, who alleged he was manhandled. Police have not responded to the allegations.   The protests follow a controversy over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Election Commission says differing views are normal and its orders are legally valid. (PC: India Today)

Archaeologists searching the seabed off Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu have recovered pottery fragments believed to have come from West Asia. The pieces were found in 10 to 12 metres of water, about 1.8 to 2.2 km from the present shoreline, during the third phase of underwater exploration.   Among the finds are parts of a torpedo jar, a distinctive vessel linked to long-distance maritime trade across the Indian Ocean.   Poompuhar was once the Chola port of Kaveripoompattinam, parts of which now lie beneath the Bay of Bengal. The discovery gives researchers a new material clue to a trading world that ancient Tamil literature described nearly two thousand years ago. (PC: The Indian Express)

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray jointly led the Virat Garjana Morcha in Mumbai on October 4, protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The march began at Metro Cinema and moved towards the BMC headquarters, with Congress and NCP (SP) leaders also participating. Protesters demanded Kumar’s resignation and cancellation of Maharashtra’s SIR exercise. Raj Thackeray also called for replacing EVMs with ballot papers. Organisers asked participants to carry only the national flag, avoiding party flags. 

The Kerala Home Department has ordered the reopening of a Vigilance probe into alleged corruption in a 2006 road project, when Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was the state's Public Works Department secretary. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala ordered the reinvestigation. The case began after Malaysian engineer Lee See Been, chief project manager of the World Bank-funded Kerala State Transport Project, died by suicide. His purported note allegedly named Kumar, accusing him of seeking a bribe to clear payments to PATI-BEL, an Indo-Malaysian venture. The earlier Vigilance inquiry was closed without a conclusion. The move revives a 20-year-old allegation against the current CEC. 

The Press Club of India said it was "shocked and dismayed" by Delhi Police's treatment of journalists at Saturday's Jantar Mantar protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Three women journalists alleged sexual harassment by police personnel. One said ACP Vivek Bhagat groped her, and that no FIR was registered despite a three-hour wait at Parliament Street police station. The Press Club said "behaviour of this kind cannot be normalised in a democracy," and also criticised the internet ban near the protest site. Delhi Police has transferred the complaints to the crime branch. Left leaders, including Brinda Karat, demanded an FIR against the ACP. (PC: X)

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Wildlife Institute of India scientists released two male Great Indian Bustards in Rajasthan's Desert National Park, Jaisalmer, on Sunday. The birds were raised at breeding centres in Ramdevra and Sam under Project GIB, and this is the first rewilding of captive-bred birds. Only about 150 of the critically endangered species survive in the wild. The centres now hold 98 captive-bred birds, of which 11 are earmarked for release. Captive breeding produced 24 chicks in 2025 and 29 in 2026. The project also includes about 200 square kilometres of fenced grassland enclosures inside the park for breeding. (PC: The Indian Express)

Three women journalists have accused Delhi Police of sexual harassment during a protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, October 3. Protesters demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise. Delhi Police said it received the complaints and transferred them to the Crime Branch for a "fair and impartial enquiry". Congress MP Rahul Gandhi asked Home Minister Amit Shah to answer, since Delhi Police reports to his ministry. The Cockroach Janta Party and AISA made similar allegations. The Press Club of India said it was shocked and urged police to act on the complaints. (PC: India Today)