Supreme Court forms High-Powered Enquiry Committee to investigate violence during student protests

The Supreme Court on Thursday (August 20, 2026) ordered the formation of a high-powered enquiry committee (HPEC) to examine issues, including police violence, NEET-UG protests across the country.

The committee will be headed by Justice (Retd.) R. Subhash Reddy, former judge of the Supreme Court of India. Other members include, Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Shalinder Kaur, former Judge of the Delhi High Court, Rishi Kumar Shukla, former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Dr. L.R. Bishnoi, retired Director General of Police, Meghalaya.

Jharkhand HC stays notifications cancelling appointment of government staff through 11th to 13th JPSC exams

The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday (August 20, 2026) stayed the operation of notifications cancelling the appointment of government employees through 11th to 13th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examinations.

The High Court also stayed the operation of the order cancelling the appointments of food safety officers. While hearing a petition against the government notifications, the Court asked the State to furnish its reply by September 15, the next date of hearing.

Bengal, J&K, Ladakh and five other State Collectors empowered to grant citizenship under CAA

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has transferred the processing of pending citizenship applications under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, from Empowered Committees — comprising Central government officials, including those from the Census, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and postal departments — to District Collectors in eight States and Union Territories (UTs).

District Collectors in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam (except tribal areas), Tripura (except tribal areas), Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh have been authorised to process CAA applications, as per the August 19 order, making the earlier arrangement of multi-agency committee redundant.

Supreme Court scraps worker-friendly 1978 ‘industry’ precedent for new labour code

In a verdict in which judges varyingly differed on issues, nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday (August 20, 2026) held that a nearly half-century-old expansive interpretation of ‘industry’, which previously granted workers stronger labour rights and protection, will not apply under the new Industrial Relations Code, 2020.

The reference before the Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was centered around a broad definition given to ‘industry’ in a 1978 seven-judge Constitution Bench judgment, authored by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, in the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa case.

Unauthorised structures outside Pakistan High Commission pulled down in Delhi

A section of structures outside the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi was demolished after authorities found them to be beyond the mission’s approved boundary, official sources said on Thursday (August 20, 2026).

The action was carried out by the agencies concerned using a JCB machine, which removed the structures and barricades erected along the lane outside the compound, including queue-management installations near the visa section, the sources said. Visuals showed that the demolition left a trail of rubble outside the mission, with broken metal railings and gates, twisted metal frames, roofing sheets, bricks and chunks of concrete and plaster strewn across the paved area.

Sajjan Kumar, former Congress MP convicted in anti-Sikh riots case, passes away

Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who was serving life sentence in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh killings in Delhi, died on Thursday (August 20, 2026) in Safdarjung Hospital, sources told The Hindu.

Safdarjung Hospital stated that, Sajjan Kumar, aged 84 years, was brought to VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital by Police with altered sensorium around 11:00 a.m. He was immediately admitted and resuscitation measures were initiated. Despite providing all necessary medical and life-support measures, he could not be saved and passed away at 12:30 p.m.

As NRC demand intensifies, Manipur community leaders leave for Delhi

A 10-member team comprising leaders of different communities and organisations in Manipur left for New Delhi on Thursday (August 20, 2026) amid the unrest in the State’s Imphal Valley to press for an updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the Census exercise is conducted in the State.

The departure of the team, representing members from the Meitei, Pangal (Manipuri Muslims), Naga, and other indigenous communities, coincided with the boycott of Central and State government offices in Manipur on Thursday (August 20, 2026).

Tarun Tejpal appeals in Supreme Court against 10-year term in 2013 rape case

Journalist Tarun Tejpal, former editor of Tehelka magazine, on Thursday (August 20, 2026) appealed in the Supreme Court against the August 6, 2026, judgment of the Bombay High Court sentencing him to 10 years imprisonment in a 2013 rape case.

His appeal comes as the State of Goa, on Tuesday (August 18, 2026), moved the Supreme Court for enhancing the quantum of the sentence for Tejpal. The State said that the sentence was manifestly inadequate but clarified that it did not want to challenge or reopen the findings or conclusions on the merits recorded by the Bombay High Court in a judgment on August 6.

Southern Zonal Council meet: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay seeks fair, equitable treatment of southern States from Centre

Southern States seek not preferential treatment, but fair and equitable treatment, one that respects fiscal autonomy, rewards performance alongside equity, and enables high-performing States to continue investing in the infrastructure, innovation, and human capital that drive India’s growth, said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Thursday (August 20, 2026).

At the 31st meeting of the Southern Zonal Council held at Mamallapuram and presided over by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mr. Vijay said the southern States have consistently been among the principal drivers of the nation’s economic growth. As India prepares for the next Finance Commission, the fiscal devolution framework must recognise both need and performance. States that have invested in development, fiscal discipline, and demographic transition should not be placed at a disadvantage, he said.

Amit Shah says Congress’s decision on rendering first two stanzas of Vande Mataram is ‘anti-national’

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (August 20, 2026) launched a sharp attack on the Congress, alleging that its decision to render only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram reflected appeasement politics, disrespected martyrs and undermined national unity.

In a statement to the media, Mr. Shah termed the Congress Working Committee’s move on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) to feature only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party functions, in line with the All India Congress Committee resolution of 1937, as “anti-national”.

Published - August 20, 2026 06:24 pm IST