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Evening News Brief November 3: Supreme Court says no group can occupy protest site indefinitely, US votes in midterm elections
Key developments included the Supreme Court’s remarks on protest-site occupations and US elections that will determine control of Congress.
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Good evening, readers. From the Supreme Court's remarks on indefinite protests to the high-stakes US midterm elections, several key developments made headlines today. Here are the key stories of the day.
No individual, group can occupy a designated protest site indefinitely: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said no individual, group or organisation could claim an indefinite right to occupy a designated protest site, underlining that others too have an equal constitutional right to use the same public space to raise their grievances.
The observations came as the court heard a clutch of petitions arising from the police action during the July protests led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), including allegations of mass detentions, police excesses, internet restrictions and the closure of metro stations. Read more.
US midterm elections 2026: Polls open in several US states as Democrats seek control of both chambers of Congress
Deep Dive
Voters across several US states are heading to polling stations, joining millions who have already cast their ballots ahead of Election Day. Polling stations have opened in some East Coast states, including Connecticut, Maine, New York and New Jersey, as well as parts of Kentucky and Indiana.
Voters will decide which party controls the US House of Representatives and the Senate. Democrats need to win four additional Senate seats and three House seats to take control of both chambers from Republicans. The Senate races in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas are among the key contests to watch. House battlegrounds are spread across the country. Track live updates here.
Dia Mirza's Diwali video removal unfortunate, contrary to secular spirit: Bombay high court
The removal of actor Dia Mirza’s video for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s eco-friendly Diwali campaign was “very unfortunate” and contrary to the “secular spirit” of the country, the Bombay high court said on Tuesday.
The court’s remarks came amid a massive row in the state, after the civic body selectively removed the actor’s clip from social media following objections from a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and mayor Ritu Tawde's comments labelling her as "anti-Hindu". Mirza, however, said efforts to reduce air pollution should be welcomed as it is a matter of public health. Read more.
Ranbir Kapoor says he doen't like the term ‘Bollywood’ as it derives from Hollywood
Actor Ranbir Kapoor has made his stance clear on the use of the term ‘Bollywood’ to describe Hindi cinema, or sometimes all of Indian cinema. In an interview with a British media outlet, Ranbir agreed he was not a fan of the term and would prefer to be known as an Indian actor rather than a Bollywood star.
Ranbir is promoting his upcoming film, Ramayana, for which he was recently in London along with castmates Sai Pallavi and Yash. There, the actor spoke to ITV where the host asked him why he was not a fan of the ‘umbrella term Bollywood’ used to describe Indian films. Ranbir responded, “I think it's just a term used as a derivative of Hollywood. Because it was Bombay at that time, so it became Bollywood, and the Telugu industry became Tollywood, and they had all these different-sounding names.” Read more.
Badminton fund row: SAI, BAI administrative tussle left players to fend for themselves
Administrative delays reportedly led to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) not approving funds for the participation of top Indian badminton players, led by PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, in the recent European swing of tournaments which ended with both the India No.1 players crowned champions at the Hylo Open in Staarbrucken, Germany on Sunday.
The issue has sparked a controversy over players being left to organise their own finances for the trip that involved tournaments in four countries — Finland, Denmark, France and Germany. However, it is learnt that the Badminton Association of India (BAI) did not receive Sports Authority of India's (SAI) clearance in time because it delayed sending the list of tournaments for approval. Read more.
