Top news of the day: Plea seeks probe, trial of CEC Gyanesh Kumar as ‘ordinary accused’; Abhijeet Dipke asks Opposition parties to stop participating in ‘rigged’ elections, and more

Probe and subject CEC Gyanesh Kumar to trial like an ‘ordinary accused’, says plea in Supreme CourtA petition was moved in the Supreme Court to subject Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to police investigation, evidence gathering and regular trial like an “ordinary accused”.The plea by Supreme Court advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, represented by advocate Chand Qureshi, said the allegations raised against Mr. Kumar in an investigative newspaper report did not show any reasonable nexus with his official functions and responsibilities, and included tampering with the electoral roll. The allegations constitute a cognisable offence under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 as well as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Abhijeet Dipke asks Opposition parties to stop participating in ‘rigged’ electionsCockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday (September 25, 2026) urged opposition parties to stop participating in elections if they believe the electoral process is being rigged, saying their continued participation only legitimises such polls and creates an “illusion” that they are free and fair. In a post on X, Mr. Dipke said opposition parties could not simultaneously claim that elections were being rigged and continue to contest them.“Yes, elections are being rigged. But when you continue to participate in rigged elections, you legitimise these elections and help maintain the illusion that they are free and fair,” he said. Mr. Dipke questioned whether Opposition parties continued to participate because they feared that staying away from elections would lead to their political extinction. “Maybe you keep contesting because you fear that if you don’t, you will stop existing. But what kind of existence are you trying to protect when votes are being stolen, your MLAs and MPs are being poached, and your parties are being split?” he said.‘Gem Granites’ Veeramani POCSO Act case: All-woman SIT to take over probeThe Tamil Nadu police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising women officers to investigate the sensational POCSO Act case involving Gem Granites chairman R. Veeramani. In an order issued on Friday (September 25, 2026), Director General of Police and Head of the Police Force Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal said the SIT had been formed to investigate the case and related matters effectively.The SIT comprises P.C. Thenmozhi, Additional Commissioner of Police, Central Crime Branch, Greater Chennai Police; Disha Mittal, Joint Commissioner of Police, West, Greater Chennai Police; J. Mutharasi, Superintendent of Police, Media Relations Officer, Office of the DGP/HoPF, Tamil Nadu; and V.V. Geethanjali, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Against Women and Children, Greater Chennai Police, Chennai.Supreme Court rejects PIL for setting up panel to examine use of Hindi as official language of apex courtThe Supreme Court on Friday (September 25, 2026) refused to entertain a PIL seeking directions to the Centre to constitute a commission to examine and recommend the use of Hindi as an official language of the Supreme Court. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said language-related reforms were already being considered administratively and could not be brought about through judicial orders.The PIL, filed by Brahmeshwar Nath Mishra, sought a direction to the Centre to constitute a commission for making recommendations regarding the use of Hindi as the official language of the Supreme Court. Appearing for Mr. Mishra, an advocate submitted that the Centre could be directed to constitute such a commission and referred to various constitutional provisions in support of the plea. The CJI said the Supreme Court was already introducing language-related reforms in a gradual and phased manner.Delhi SIR: Prominent names flagged for notices were marked ‘shifted’, ‘absent’ before records were changed under ‘mark VIP’Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across Delhi had initially marked many of Delhi’s prominent leaders who were flagged for notices, such as Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, BJP veteran L.K. Advani, former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration phase, as “permanently shifted” or “absent/untraceable” after field verification. They were subsequently retained in the draft roll after check against “marked electors” database meant to ensure that such electors were not left out, senior poll officials across constituencies told The Hindu. The status of the enumeration form was changed on the BLO application after a fresh direction to check the database of “marked electors” who had been specially flagged as public representatives, holders of declared offices and prominent personalities. The change was made against existing records irrespective of the outcome of the ground verification, officials said. Four women wrestlers challenge acquittal of Brij Bhushan in sexual harassment caseFour women wrestlers on Friday (September 25, 2026) moved a sessions court, challenging a magistrate’s order acquitting former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a sexual harassment case. The appeal challenges the acquittal order of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwini Panwar dated August 3.According to the plea, the order of acquittal was “erroneous and unsustainable in law”. The matter is likely to be heard by Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh on Saturday.Why was Sai Krishna never produced in court? Supreme Court asks Andhra police, seeks records in sealed coverThe Supreme Court has asked why Gade Sai Krishna, 25, was never produced before a court after the police in Vijayawada took him into custody in May, and said it will intervene, if necessary, once the Andhra Pradesh High Court disposes of the petitions pending before it on his alleged custodial death.A three-judge Bench took serious note of the case while hearing a petition filed by Tirupati MP Maddila Gurumurthy on Wednesday (September 23, 2026). The death allegedly occurred at the Krishnalanka police station of the NTR Police Commissionerate in Vijayawada.Asian Games 2026: Kamaljeet-Suruchi shoot India to gold in 10m air pistol mixed team eventIndian shooters Kamaljeet and Suruchi Singh produced an excellent performance and fired their way to the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Asian Games on Friday (September 25, 2026), bouncing back in style after disappointing outings in their respective individual events. Kamaljeet and Suruchi shot a total of 484.6 in the final in which the top four pairs qualify for the medal round. They were followed by South Korea’s Suhyeon Hong and Gaeun Choo (478.0) in second place. The Koreans were 6.6 behind Kamaljeet and Suruchi, which showed the Indian pair’s dominance in the final. Iran bagged bronze in the event with 415.8.Earlier, Kamaljeet and Suruchi stormed into the final after topping the qualification with a strong performance. After registering a 196 in the opening series, the Indian pair raced to 391 at the end of second series after scoring 195, placing them within sight of making the finals with just 20 shots remaining. They aggregated another 196 in the the third series to take their tally to 587, which included 29 inner 10s.Rain fury in Odisha triggers flood fear; schools closed, 10,000 people evacuatedA deep depression lashed Odisha with heavy rain on Friday (September 25, 2026), with at least 24 places recording more than 100 mm of rainfall, forcing authorities to close schools as rivers swelled, landslides occurred, waterlogging spread and houses were damaged. Around 10,000 people living in low-lying and landslide-prone areas in the southern and western region of the eastern coastal state have been shifted to 200 relief centres.The deep depression that made landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast a day ago entered Odisha, causing heavy to very heavy rain in 24 hours until 8.30 a.m. on Friday (September 25, 2026). Tentulikhunti in Nabarangpur district was the wettest at 395 mm rainfall, followed by Nandahandi at 344 mm, and Boriguma in Koraput district at 307.8 mm rainfall.Gaurav Gogoi detained during Assam Congress protest demanding CEC’s removalAssam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and several senior party leaders were detained on Friday (September 25, 2026) while trying to break through police barricades during a protest demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, police said.Assam Congress, led by Mr. Gogoi, had taken out a march from its state headquarters, Rajiv Bhawan, and planned to proceed towards the Chief Electoral Officer’s office to burn an effigy of the CEC. Police had put up barricades near Rajiv Bhawan, which the protesting leaders, including Mr. Gogoi, attempted to cross, following which they were detained. Congress spokesperson Bedabrata Bora alleged that the leaders were “forcefully arrested” and claimed that “this is yet another threat to democracy”. Besides Gogoi, those detained included AICC secretary Manoj Chauhan, Seva Dal president Deep Bayan and APCC general secretary Udit Bhanu Das, along with several others.