South Asia

Across cities, Diwali celebrations brought severe pollution, excessive noise, fires, deaths and violence, the events raise questions about civic responsibility and enforcement: when existing rules repeatedly fail, what measures can ensure celebrations do not endanger others?

Faced with a narrow defeat last week --a Congress-led panel had won 13 seats to Mahayuti’s 12 seats last week, the Fadnavis government in a widely criticised move, altered rules to nominate members and give them voting rights; this tilted the balance in Mahayuti’s favour after a courtroom drama that first directed elections and thereafter refused to stay or scrutinise the hastily changed rules; Fadnavis Govt alters rules & Voila(!), Mahayuti Candidate is Chairman of Gokul Dairy after a courtroom drama also unfolds last week

The meeting Election Commission held on September 26, 2026 provided certain procedures for voters left out or issued notices during SIR, but fresh cases from Delhi and Karnataka show that the wider machinery through which existing names can be challenged and processed for deletion remains in place

Holding that the 24-hour deadline under Article 22(2) begins with the actual curtailment of liberty, the Court says investigating agencies cannot keep individuals in custody while delaying the formal recording of arrest

A preliminary analysis of Maharashtra’s SIR-2026 draft roll by the Sabar Institute finds that 20.69 million names which is a significant 21.1 % of the state’s 97.9 million electors— close to one in five pre-revision electors — were missing in the draft electoral roll published on August 31, 2026; these voters were placed on the ASDD list; the report also identifies sharp geographical variations in the deletion

The Election Commission has separated the SIR declaration from the statutory Form 6 after two Election Commissioners objected to its inclusion and one called the change “unauthorised/illegal”, the issue comes as the Supreme Court is hearing the separate question of requiring deleted Delhi voters to seek inclusion again through Form 6