Morning Digest: Supreme Court to hear Rahul, Opposition leaders’ plea against CEC, SIR today; Marco Rubio to skip Delhi, visit Mumbai and Jamnagar next week, and more

Supreme Court to hear Rahul Gandhi, Oppn. leaders’ plea against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and SIR todayThe Supreme Court on Thursday (October 15, 2026) is scheduled to hear a joint petition filed by Opposition leaders led by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, seeking a full and complete disclosure of “files, agendas, minutes, notings and objections” recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on the special intensive revision (SIR), which has so far deleted about 13 crore voters across India.Marco Rubio to skip Delhi, visit Mumbai and Jamnagar next weekU.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to India for his second visit in six months, with energy and trade relations on the top of the agenda as he visits Mumbai and Jamnagar, the U.S. Department of State announced on Wednesday (October 14, 2026). However, Mr. Rubio, who is expected to visit India from October 19 to 22 after travelling to Samarkand in Uzbekistan for a regional conference, will skip Delhi.Anti-SIR protests rock Delhi for the fifth day, hundreds detainedProtesters climbed over barricades, slogans pierced through the din of police announcements, and detention buses filled up as hundreds of people took to the streets of central Delhi on Wednesday, the fifth consecutive day of demonstrations against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi meet murdered Ankita Bhandari’s parents as they protest Sikkim Governor appointmentRahul Gandhi and his sister, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Wednesday met the parents of the late Ankita Bhandari, who were staging a sit-in protest near India Gate against the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim.Petitions in Supreme Court allege police excesses during Delhi CEC protestsThose detained during Delhi protests on October 10, 11 and 12 have filed petitions in the Supreme Court alleging police excesses and appealing for an independent inquiry into the police action, preservation of CCTV footage and bodycams and return of their phones and other belongings. The detainees alleged they were dragged, slapped and assaulted by Delhi Police personnel.Delhi journalist who accused ACP of sexual harassment slapped with SC/ST Act over ‘casteist remarks’Delhi Police have registered a case against three people, including an independent journalist, who had accused Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat of sexual harassment while covering a protest in the Capital on October 3. The FIR, registered on the complaint of the police officer, alleges caste-based humiliation, intimidation and obstruction of official duty.Iran-backed Houthis strike Saudi oil company Aramco’s headquarters, officials sayIran-backed Houthi rebels hit the headquarters of the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco in an overnight strike, two regional officials said on Wednesday, damaging the offices of the firm’s chief executive and other top officials.Citizens asked to detail demographic changes in their areas through MHA portalThe demography panel set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a portal to allow government bodies, members of the public, NGOs, and even “international organisations” to submit their input on “frequent demographic changes in the country,” preferably post-2011.Supreme Court mandates insurance on offline railway tickets from October 27The Supreme Court has issued a mandatory directive that tickets sold at counters at every railway station nationwide must include travel insurance coverage identical to that of online bookings. A Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan directed the railway authorities to put the order into effect from October 27, 2026.IND vs WI 4th T20I: Hope and Paul sizzle as West Indies trumps India; series drawn at 2-2Shai Hope’s sensational unbeaten century lit the fuse for West Indies’ 24-run win over India on Wednesday, dragging the series level at 2-2.