Ex-Kerala Chief Secretary Claims Offer To Join BJP; Congress Questions Election Commissioner

Following the suicide of IIT Bombay student Sahil Vakode and subsequent allegations of caste discrimination, police invoked the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, reigniting a nationwide debate over the statute's stringent provisions, due process, and potential misuse. Enacted in 1989, the legislation bars anticipatory bail under Section 18 and eliminates the requirement for preliminary inquiries prior to registering an FIR under Section 18A. While established to protect marginalized communities from systemic atrocities, critics highlight instances where normal disputes are converted into criminal cases, citing instances such as the 20-year wrongful incarceration of Vishnu Tiwari and recent judicial scrutiny from high courts and the Supreme Court. Furthermore, debate surrounds the mandatory release of substantial compensation to complainants prior to trial conclusion. National Crime Records Bureau data from 2024 indicates a conviction rate of roughly 33 percent for SC/ST cases alongside significant trial pendency, accentuating the delicate balance between safeguarding vulnerable individuals from genuine caste atrocities and protecting procedural fairness.

Three Indian cybersecurity researchers at startup Hactron AI—Harsh Jaiswal, Rahul Maini, and Mohan Peddipati—successfully breached OpenAI systems during an authorised security test. Using Anthropic's AI chatbot Claude, the team exploited an image processing vulnerability in OpenAI's Discourse-powered community forum. The breach allowed them to discover another flaw in the login system, obtain authentication tokens, and access employee ChatGPT and Codex accounts, ultimately reaching OpenAI's private software repository. Demonstrating responsible disclosure, the researchers submitted a harmless pull request and reported the vulnerabilities without accessing sensitive data. OpenAI resolved the security issues, disabled the tokens, and awarded the researchers a 6,500 dollar bug bounty for the project.

A major boardroom dispute has emerged at the Tata Group between Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata over leadership and control. On September 17, the Tata Sons board approved a five-year extension for Chandrasekaran and initiated steps toward a potential public listing, both of which Noel Tata opposed. Tata Trusts, holding a 66 percent stake in Tata Sons, argues that under the Articles of Association, board resolutions require the affirmative vote of a majority of trust-nominated directors. While nominee Venu Srinivasan voted in favour, Noel Tata dissented, leading the Trusts to assert the reappointment is invalid without both nominees agreeing. Conversely, Tata Sons maintains the decision was validly carried by a 4-1 board majority with the chairman's casting vote. The rift is further compounded by listing pressures following the RBI's rejection of Tata Sons' application to surrender its core investment company status, setting off a wider conflict over conglomerate governance.

A major controversy has emerged over alleged internal rifts within the Election Commission of India following an expose. Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi reportedly registered formal objections at least 14 times over 10 months against decisions taken without their knowledge or approval. Three main issues form the core of the allegations: alterations to Form 6 requiring new applicants to declare their ancestors' presence on previous electoral rolls, the centralisation of the voter database in Delhi through ECI Net, and the filing of appeals regarding West Bengal voter inclusions without consulting the commissioners or the state Chief Electoral Officer. While the poll panel stated that differing views are normal during deliberations, key questions surrounding these decisions remain unanswered.