The Cockroach Janta Party said that there had been a “complete breach” of its agreement with the Union government that no police action would be taken against peaceful protesters. It called on Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states to immediately withdraw cases against protesters and release those in custody. It warned that if they did not do so, it would be “forced to sit on protest again”.

The campaign said that it was concerned by reports that demonstrators had been “targeted, detained or arrested” by state agencies in BJP-ruled Assam, Bihar and West Bengal.

The police in Bihar said that 144 persons were arrested on Sunday for allegedly assaulting security personnel during the demonstrations last week. In neighbouring West Bengal, 14 persons, mostly Muslims, were arrested for allegedly attacking police personnel and journalists during a protest against paper leaks in Kolkata on Friday.

The police in Assam have arrested six persons and detained at least 24 in connection with a demonstration held in Guwahati in solidarity with the protests in Delhi. Read more.

The Supreme Court has verbally observed that the right to protest peacefully is guaranteed by the Constitution and that excessive use of force by the police on agitators cannot be justified. “Just because there is an agitation does not mean there should be lathi-charge,” said Chief Justice Surya Kant.

The court was hearing a petition alleging that the police used excessive force against protesters who were marching to Parliament on July 20 as part of a demonstration called by the Cockroach Janta Party.

The petitioners also pointed out instances of the police in Bihar using excessive force against protesters who were demonstrating in solidarity with the youth agitation in Delhi. Read on.

The Union government introduced a bill to amend the anti-paper leak law in the wake of nationwide protests against alleged irregularities in competitive examinations. The draft legislation proposes imprisonment of five to ten years and a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh for those found using unfair means in public examinations.

If instances of paper leaks or other offences listed under the bill are found to be organised, the bill proposes a minimum sentence of seven years and a fine of up to Rs 10 crore.

A total of 15 illegal acts, including leaking question papers, tampering with optical mark recognition sheets, creating fake websites and issuing fake admission cards have been listed as offences under the bill. Read on.

The Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Ukrainian ambassador in connection with the attack on a commercial ship on July 18, in which one Indian national was killed. The attack took place when the ship was reportedly transiting through Russian territorial waters in the Black Sea, the ministry had said.

The ministry said that it conveyed its “serious concern” about the incident to ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk and condemned attacks on commercial shipping.

This comes after a ship with four Indians onboard was struck by a projectile at the port of Odesa in Ukraine on Saturday. While two of the Indian seafarers are safe, “information is awaited regarding the other two”, said the Indian Embassy in Kyiv on Sunday. Read on.

The Bombay High Court has allowed Union minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil suit against Meta, Google and X for allegedly defamatory content being circulated on their social media platforms linking him to a row about the government’s ethanol-blending programme. The E20 programme is a national initiative to blend 20% ethanol with 80% petrol.

The initiative has received criticism from vehicle owners who have alleged that E20 fuel was reducing mileage and damaging cars.

The Union minister of road transport and highways stated in his petition that the E20 programme was being administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and that he had no role in it. Read on.

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