Polity

India’s amended Census Rules expressly include private-school teachers and employees of specified establishments as potential enumerators. The change raises questions about compulsory public service, statutory powers and protection of classroom teaching.

The Union government has approved a 30% trade-margin cap on expensive non-scheduled cancer medicines, with reports indicating that approximately 110 medicines, including 35 patented drugs, could be covered. The measure aims to reduce excessive pharmaceutical mark-ups, potentially lowering medicine prices by up to 70% and generating estimated annual patient savings of ₹2,500 crore. Amid Supreme Court scrutiny of medicine pricing, the decision raises important questions about India's drug-price regulation, the National List of Essential Medicines, pharmaceutical patents, affordable cancer treatment and the right to health.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought reports from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Delhi Police after paid Instagram advertisements allegedly directed users towards channels offering child sexual abuse material. The controversy has brought into focus mandatory reporting under Section 19 of the POCSO Act, intermediary liability under the Information Technology framework, the CyberTipline reporting system, artificial-intelligence-driven content recommendation and the large gap between online abuse alerts and effective criminal investigation.

Bihar and Jharkhand have signed a long-awaited agreement to divide the Sone River water share that had belonged to undivided Bihar under the 1973 Bansagar Agreement. The settlement allocates 5.75 million acre-feet (MAF) to Bihar and 2 MAF to Jharkhand, resolving a dispute that persisted for about 25 years after Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar. Beyond irrigation and drinking water, the agreement is important for understanding inter-State river governance, the Bihar Reorganisation Act, the proposed Indrapuri Reservoir, the constitutional division of legislative powers over water and the role of negotiated cooperative federalism in resolving water disputes.

Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has revived debate over an unusual constitutional route to India's highest court: Article 124(3)(c) allows a citizen who is, in the President's opinion, a “distinguished jurist” to qualify for appointment as a Supreme Court judge. Addressing the 13th convocation of National Law University Delhi, Justice Bhuyan described this as an “unused mandate” because no Supreme Court judge has ever been appointed through this route. The issue raises wider questions about judicial appointments, the Collegium system, diversity on the Bench, the relationship between legal academia and the judiciary, and the meaning of judicial independence.

In Rakhi Bisht v. Union of India & Anr., the Delhi High Court has held that pregnancy or maternity leave cannot become a reason for demotion, loss of professional status or denial of career progression. The Court ruled that merely retaining an employee's salary and designation is not enough if her actual role, authority and advancement prospects are reduced. It also directed the Union government to create a comprehensive post-maternity reintegration framework under the Code on Social Security, 2020.

A Bihar Police constable was suspended and departmental proceedings were initiated after he allegedly fired four rounds from an AK-47 rifle into the air during a student protest in Siwan without orders from a superior officer. The incident has raised questions about the legality of unauthorised AK-47 firing, the constitutional right to protest, police powers under BNSS Section 148, the Bihar Police Manual, self-defence and accountability for excessive force. The Supreme Court subsequently issued interim directions concerning the preservation of protest-related evidence while hearing petitions alleging police excesses.

A planned protest march to Parliament in New Delhi was stopped by police at multiple barricades, with reports of lathi charge and tear gas, after prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were imposed across the New Delhi district. The action has renewed focus on the constitutional right to protest under Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1)(b), the scope of "reasonable restrictions", and the difference between lawful regulation and an outright ban. This article explains the constitutional basis of the right to protest, how Section 163 works, key Supreme Court judgments, and India's position on peaceful assembly.

The Supreme Court has reiterated that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is not the final authority to determine citizenship, and that deletion of a name from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) does not result in automatic loss of citizenship status. The remarks came while hearing a plea on West Bengal, where over 33.5 lakh appeals against deletions are pending before 19 Appellate Tribunals and deleted voters are allegedly being denied welfare benefits. This article explains the SIR exercise, the Bihar SIR judgment, the ECI's powers, constitutional citizenship provisions, the Citizenship Act framework, and the appellate mechanism for UPSC Prelims and Mains.

The Ladakh administration has announced steps to extend the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council framework to all seven districts, instead of limiting such councils to Leh and Kargil. While the administration presents the proposal as democratic decentralisation suited to Ladakh’s difficult geography, the Apex Body Leh and Kargil Democratic Alliance fear that multiple district councils could dilute the powers of a proposed Union Territory-level representative body being discussed under an Article 371-type framework.

The Ministry of External Affairs has stated that an Indian passport is a document issued under the Passports Act, 1967 to "regulate the departure" of Indian citizens from the country, and not a proof of citizenship, with less than 8 per cent of Indian citizens currently holding one. The clarification, made amid the debate over documents accepted as proof of citizenship during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, has drawn sharp political reactions. This article explains the MEA's position, the Passports Act 1967, citizenship law under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and Articles 5–11, the SIR exercise, and the Supreme Court's rulings, for UPSC Prelims and Mains.

The Ladakh administration has announced that Autonomous Hill Development Councils (AHDCs) will be constituted in each of the Union Territory's seven districts, extending elected local self-governance to the five new districts of Drass, Sham, Nubra, Changthang and Zanskar. The move has been opposed by the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), who fear it may dilute the powers of the proposed UT-level representative government being negotiated under Article 371. This article explains the announcement, the LAHDC Act, 1997, the background of Ladakh's statehood and Sixth Schedule demands, the ongoing MHA negotiations, and the constitutional dimensions of the issue for UPSC Prelims and Mains.