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The Supreme Court said that the Election Commission should focus on “mass inclusion” rather than “en masse exclusion” while revising the electoral rolls in Bihar. The court reiterated its suggestion to the poll body to consider adding Aadhaar and voter identity cards to the list of valid documents.

However, the bench refused to restrain the Election Commission from publishing the draft voter list on August 1. It will fix a time on Tuesday for the final hearing of the case.

Last week, the Election Commission argued that Aadhaar and ration cards could not be included as standalone valid documents, as they could be obtained by fraudulent means. In response, the court said that any of the documents listed by the poll panel as acceptable could also be forged.

The revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar was announced by the Election Commission on June 24. As part of the exercise, persons whose names were not on the 2003 voter list will need to submit proof of their eligibility to vote. Read on.

The Union government has been unable to arrest those responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack even after 100 days, the Congress has stated. During a debate in Lok Sabha on the attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor launched by India, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi also said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah “needs to take the responsibility” for the alleged security lapse.

“The country wants to know how these terrorists were given shelter and information,” said Gogoi. “And 100 days later, the government has no answer.” He criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to visit Pahalgam after the terror attack.

Earlier on Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that while the Opposition had questioned the government’s claims, they had not once asked how many Pakistani aircraft had been shot down. He claimed that the Opposition’s questions did not reflect the national sentiment.

Singh said it was “absolutely wrong” to claim that India halted Operation Sindoor under any pressure. He maintained India decided to pause the military operation as it had achieved its political and military objectives. Read on.

The Supreme Court has stayed a Calcutta High Court order blocking the implementation of a West Bengal government notification classifying 140 communities as Other Backward Classes. A bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai said that the High Court order was “prima facie erroneous”.

The court expressed surprise at the High Court’s reasoning that only the legislature could approve the OBC list, and not the executive.

The matter pertains to a notification issued by the West Bengal government earlier in June that added 76 sub-castes to the OBC category, taking the total number of communities in the grouping to 140.

Out of these, 80 communities are from among Muslims, while 60 are non-Muslims. Muslims comprise 57.1% of the population included in the OBC category. Read on.

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