Supreme Court Seeks Centre's Reply on Library Relocation As Protests and Legal Challenges Mount Over Voter List Revision

UPDATE - follow-up to India News Live Updates 5 October 2026: 'Gyanu more valuable to this regime than citizens': CJP's Dipke takes dig at CEC: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Election Commission, Chief Election Commission Gyanesh Kumar, and two other Election Commissioners over pleas challenging the CEC's functioning and seeking his suspension. The petitions challenge the nationwide Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls as illegal and ask for an SIT probe. These legal challenges follow protests by the Cockroach Janta Party, activists, and Opposition parties demanding Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in voter list updates. CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke alleged that the CEC was more valuable to the government than citizens, claiming the administration needed Kumar rather than voters to stay in power. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath defended the revision exercise as necessary for national security to remove ineligible, deceased, or duplicate entries.

Courts and Infrastructure

The Supreme Court also sought a detailed affidavit from the Centre regarding the relocation of the 135-year-old Central Secretariat Library from Shastri Bhavan. The bench asked for layout plans and details on whether the proposed space can accommodate the library's collection, including two lakh books stored in R K Puram, setting the next hearing for November 16. In a separate matter, the apex court asked the Delhi High Court to consider a plea by 11 members of the Delhi Gymkhana Club challenging the Centre's takeover and eviction proceedings for the 27.3-acre premises. Separately, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant agreed to list pleas seeking directions for Delhi Police to allow peaceful protests in the national capital.

Accidents and Transport

In major accidents, a speeding bus travelling from Manali to Nepal crashed into a cement-loaded tractor-trolley on National Highway-9 in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district on Monday, killing two people and injuring 11 others. Police stated the driver may have dozed off. In Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district, about 20 passengers were injured when a Chennai-to-Madurai private bus plunged off a highway and overturned near Ulundurpet. In Punjab's Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, another bus carrying 40 passengers overturned, leaving four people dead and 17 injured.

Governance and Economy

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that India is in talks with both Russia and Ukraine, moving beyond advocacy to discuss Black Sea shipping safety, grain and energy exports, and non-attack possibilities. In Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan launched Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 works in Kadapa district with a Rs 30,156 crore investment to provide rural tap water. Meanwhile, IndiGo announced fuel surcharge increases ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 350 for domestic flights starting October 6, citing a more than 14 percent month-on-month rise in aviation turbine fuel prices.

Context

The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is an administrative process conducted by election authorities to clean up voter lists by removing duplicate, deceased, or shifted voters, though such large-scale revisions often face intense political scrutiny. High-level infrastructure relocations, such as moving historic libraries, typically trigger legal oversight to ensure public assets and archival collections remain protected and accessible.