Top news of the day: October 15, 2026

Delhi High Court refuses to stop CJP's Oct. 16 'tiranga' protest; Dipke accuses Centre of protecting CEC

The Delhi High Court on Thursday (October 15, 2026) refused to restrain the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and its founder Abhijeet Dipke from holding a protest at the Connaught Place Central Park on October 16, even as it took on record the police's assurance that all possible steps would be taken to regulate and control their activity.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court issued notices on a series of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, as well as the mass detentions of protesters, journalists and others during anti-CEC protests in Delhi last week.

Conversion does not automatically grant quota benefits: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday (October 15, 2026) declared that a Hindu belonging to a Backward Class could not claim the same reservation benefits as a Muslim member of a Backward Class merely on conversion to Islam.

The court clarified the law while dismissing a Tamil Nadu government appeal seeking confirmation of the State's policy to provide reservation benefits to members of Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities and Scheduled Castes who embrace Islam.

Anti-CEC protest: Actor Imran Khan issued notice, asked to leave India by October 28

Actor Imran Khan has been issued notice for the violation of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, and has been asked to leave India by October 28, Mumbai Police said on Thursday (October 15, 2026). Mr. Khan is a foreign national. The action comes after he participated in the protest in Mumbai on October 10, seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The notice has been issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in Mumbai. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Branch 2 is the designated Foreigners Regional Registration Officer. "Mr. Khan's acts are in violation of visa conditions and the provisions of Foreigners Act. Suo motu action has been initiated in the matter. Law will take its due course. Process is going on," a senior officer told The Hindu.

Over 13 crore voters deleted, what is this if not a setting: Abhijeet Dipke

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday (October 15, 2026) accused the government of attempting to influence electoral outcomes through alleged voter deletions and asked whether the names of over 13 crore voters being struck off was a "setting".

34 children, teacher killed as school roof collapses in Pakistan's Peshawar

At least 34 children and a teacher were killed when the roof of a private school collapsed on Thursday (October 15, 2026) in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, hospital authorities and police said. The incident occurred in Dir Colony in the congested inner city area, Peshawar Capital City Police chief Mian Saeed said.

Thirty students were present in classrooms on the upper floor of the Al-Khair School when the roof collapsed, he said. The owner, who was operating the institution as an education trust, has been arrested, he said, adding that the roof of the three-storey building was poorly constructed.

CMRL payoff case: Setback for Pinarayi Vijayan, kin as Kerala HC dismisses pleas to appeal against FIR order

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday (October 15, 2026) dismissed the pleas filed by former Keralam Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena and son-in-law and former Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas to file an appeal against a Single Judge's direction to register an FIR against them in the ₹278-crore CMRL-Exalogic payoff case.

Rejecting the applications seeking leave to appeal filed by Mr. Vijayan, Ms. Veena and Mr. Riyas against the direction issued by the Single Judge on October 9, a Bench of Justice K. Natarajan and Justice Johnson John held that the order has not affected the applicants' right to pursue their constitutional or statutory remedies against the registration of the FIR.

'In recorded history, Ladakh was never a part of China': Ladakh leaders reject China's recent statement

Leh Apex Body (LAB) co-chairman Chering Dorjay Lakrook on Thursday (October 15, 2026) "strongly condemned" the recent statement of China on Ladakh and pledged to see China-occupied Aksai Chin as part of India.

"We strongly condemn and reject China's statement on Western Ladakh. China should be careful with their remarks. Never in recorded history, Ladakh was a part of China. We appeal to the Government of India to condemn it in strongest terms," said Mr. Lakrook, who also heads the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA).

India-U.S. deal 'finalised', implementation after clarity on India's competitive advantage, says Goyal

The first tranche of the India-U.S. trade deal has been "finalised", Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday (October 15, 2026). He added that what remained were the "final contours" and the legal vetting, and that the deal would be implemented once there was clarity on India's competitive advantage over its peers.

Mr. Goyal's comments come soon after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that negotiations on the deal had "plateaued", with little room remaining for further give and take. Before that, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer remarked that while the two countries were nearing the end of negotiations, he did not "think there's something imminent".

October 10 detainees provided 'hot, fresh, good meals', only cellular internet was suspended: Delhi Police to Supreme Court

Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar has told the Supreme Court that "preventive measures" taken on October 10 were based on intelligence inputs, ever-changing ground situation, and with an objective of preventing any disturbance of public order.

The police chief said detainees of the October 10 protests were provided "hot, fresh and good meals". They were not locked up in jails, but kept in makeshift centres. They were allowed to leave "after the occasion which necessitated their removal ceased to exist". The police said the detainees were confined only for two to six hours. Mr. Kumar said political leaders, "similarly removed", were "requested to sit in the chambers of the Station House Officers and were provided tea, coffee, meals and other refreshments while fully maintaining the dignity of the office they held or were holding".

Jammu and Kashmir High Court bars use of shikara motorboats, jet skis on Dal lake in Srinagar

The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) High Court on Thursday (October 15, 2026) barred the use of motorboats, both shikara motorboats and fuel-driven jet skis, on Dal Lake, and directed the government to explore the possibility of using solar-powered e-engines.

"Taking a comprehensive view of the submissions made, it is directed that the authorities shall ensure that no motorboat, whether it be a shikara motorboat or Jet Ski which operates by fuel, is operated in the Dal Lake until further orders," held J&K Chief Justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Judge Rajesh Sekhri. The Division Bench directed the J&K Lake Conservation and Management Authority (J&K LCMA), the Tourism Department, and the J&K Police to implement the order.

Tamil Nadu CM Vijay urges Centre to secure release of 25 Thoothukudi fishermen arrested by Maldives Coast Guard

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Thursday (October 15, 2026) wrote to Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, urging his intervention to secure the release of 25 Indian fishermen from Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu who were arrested by the Maldives Coast Guard.

In his letter, the Chief Minister said the 25 fishermen from Thoothukudi district, along with their three mechanised fishing boats, were apprehended by the Maldives Coast Guard in the early hours of October 13. He requested the External Affairs Minister to take up the matter with the Maldivian government through appropriate diplomatic channels and facilitate the early release and safe repatriation of the fishermen and their boats.

Bihar records over 52 deaths in boat capsize incidents over three years

The Vaishali creaky boat tragedy in the Raghopur area of Bihar on the night of October 13 has taken the death toll in country-made boat capsizing incidents in Bihar to 30 in 2026 as of October 13 -- nearly double the toll recorded in 2025 and four times that of 2024. The State Disaster Management Department (DMD) data show eight such boat tragedies in 2026, four in 2025, and six in 2024. Over the past three years, Bihar has witnessed 18 such boat tragedies, claiming more than 52 lives.

In 2026, 30 people have died in boat capsize incidents across Bihar, including 13 in Rampur-Shyamchand village in Vaishali district's Raghopur block on Tuesday night. The State recorded 17 such deaths in 2025 and seven in 2024. However, department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the actual death toll could be several times higher than the official figures.