Impeachment Proceedings Against Justice Verma Formally Begin; Police Raid Yasin Malik's Home 35 Years After Nurse Murder Case; And More

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SC Backs EC’s Stand on Bihar SIR Process, Says Dispute Largely About Trust

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Election Commission’s (EC) authority to include citizens and exclude non-citizens from electoral rolls.

A bench of Justices Suryakant and Joymalya Bagchi was hearing petitions by NGO ADR and opposition leaders challenging Bihar’s SIR of the voter list. Petitioners alleged the process was flawed, claiming up to one crore voters could be removed.

The EC countered that, of 7.9 crore voters, 7.24 crore had completed SIR and about 6.5 crore needed no documents as they or their parents were on the 2003 rolls.

Justice Suryakant remarked that the controversy was “to a large extent a matter of trust”.

Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal, Prashant Bhushan argued the process doubted the citizenship of nearly five crore people, many lacking the documents sought. When Prashant Bhushan (and Yogendra Yadav) spoke for the petitioners, they said this was the first instance where names were being removed from the voter list without new ones being added, even citing a man and a woman allegedly declared dead. The EC’s counsel retorted that their details should have been uploaded to the EC instead of creating “drama” in court.

Lok Sabha Speaker Formally Initiates Impeachment Motion Against Allahabad HC Judge Yashwant Verma

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against Justice Yashwant Verma of the Allahabad High Court, who faces corruption allegations, Tuesday. Birla also announced the formation of a three-member inquiry committee, marking the formal start of the impeachment process.

The committee includes Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, and senior Karnataka High Court advocate V.B. Acharya. “I received the proposal in accordance with the rules and have constituted the committee accordingly,” Birla said.

The case dates back to 14 March 2025, when a fire broke out at Justice Verma’s government residence in Delhi. Firefighters reportedly found partially burnt currency notes in the outhouse, a fact revealed only days later. Soon after, the Supreme Court collegium hurriedly decided to transfer him to the Allahabad High Court.

As the matter gained traction in the media, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna ordered an inquiry by a panel of three High Court judges. Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court Bar Association, led by president Anil Tiwari, opposed Verma’s transfer and went on strike.

Justice Verma, in a letter to the Delhi High Court Chief Justice, had dismissed the allegations as absurd and implausible, arguing it was unbelievable that anyone would keep cash in an open, accessible place near staff quarters. The denial, however, did not halt the inquiry.

Other developments

India Approves Four New Semiconductor Projects Worth Rs 4,600 Crore, Expanding National Chip-Making Footprint

With six semiconductor projects already in progress under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), the Union Cabinet on Tuesday (12 August) cleared an additional four initiatives.

These will be undertaken by:

1. SiCSem in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

2. Continental Device India Private Limited (CDIL) in Mohali, Punjab

3. 3D Glass Solutions Inc., also in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and

4. Advanced System in Package (ASIP) Technologies, in Andhra Pradesh

These projects mark important steps in India’s chip-making journey, including the nation’s first commercial compound semiconductor fabrication plant and a cutting-edge glass substrate packaging unit.

Both are expected to complement India’s fast-growing chip design ecosystem.

The combined investment for these four projects is pegged at approximately Rs 4,600 crore. They are projected to create 2,034 high-skilled jobs along with numerous indirect employment opportunities.

With these additions, ISM now has 10 approved projects spread over six states, attracting total investments worth Rs 1.60 lakh crore.

J&K Police, SIA Conduct Raids In 1990 Sarla Bhatt Murder Case

The Jammu and Kashmir Police and the State Investigation Agency (SIA) carried out raids at nine locations in Srinagar, including at Yasin Malik's residence, on Tuesday, in connection with the 1990 murder of Kashmiri Hindu woman Sarla Bhatt.

Sarla Bhatt, a resident of Anantnag district in south Kashmir, was a nurse at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Soura, Srinagar. In April 1990, she was abducted by terrorists of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). She was reportedly gang-raped for several days before being killed, and her body was dumped on a roadside in downtown Srinagar.

The raids targeted the homes of nine former JKLF commanders, including Yasin Malik.

'Osama In A Suit': Former Pentagon Official On Asim Munir

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official, delivered scathing remarks against Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir after the military leader's recent nuclear rhetoric during a meeting in Tampa, Florida.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Rubin characterized Pakistan's behavior as that of "a rogue state" and drew stark comparisons between Munir and international terrorists.

"Pakistan's threats on American soil are completely unacceptable," Rubin stated.

"Americans look at terrorism through the lens of grievance...They don't understand the ideological underpinnings of many terrorists. Asim Munir is Osama bin Laden in a suit," Rubin declared.

He also drew parallels between Pakistan's rhetoric and that of known terrorist organizations, stating, "The Field Marshal's rhetoric is reminiscent of what we've heard from the Islamic State."

"The Field Marshal's rhetoric is raising questions in many people's minds about whether Pakistan can fulfill the responsibilities of being a state," Rubin observed.

The former official suggested that Pakistan should face a "managed decline," potentially including international recognition of breakaway regions such as Balochistan. Importantly, he raised the possibility of military intervention to secure Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

"It's coming near time when, in a future administration, other SEAL teams should enter Pakistan to secure its nuclear weapons because the alternative is simply too great to bear," he warned.

You’re all caught up—until next time.