Morning Digest: SC to quash FIRs against student protesters; Jharkhand cancels 44 recruitment exams due to irregularities, and more

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, along with Cabinet Ministers, addresses the media, confirming the decision to cancel the JPSC and JSSC exam papers at Project Building, in Ranchi. | Photo Credit: ANI

The Jharkhand Government on Tuesday night (August 18, 2026) released a list of 44 recruitment exams that have been cancelled due to irregularities, amid student protests over the issue. The cancelled exams include recruitment for drug inspectors, assistant professors, deputy collectors, dental doctors, assistant engineers, civil judges, additional public prosecutors and forest range officers, among others.

The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) accused Iran of firing two ballistic missiles at shipping in the Gulf, an allegation later denied by Tehran. “UAE air defences detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran toward the country, with the first falling outside the country’s territorial waters, while the second fell within the territorial waters,” the Ministry said, in a statement posted to social media. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei “categorically rejected the United Arab Emirates’ claim that Iran had launched a missile toward that country”, calling it harmful to regional trust and security efforts.

Former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain and ex-Delhi Jal Board CEO Udit Prakash Rai are among six persons arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch in connection with an alleged corruption case involving the tendering process for sewage treatment plant projects of the Delhi Jal Board, an officer said on Tuesday (August 18, 2026). The other accused arrested are Ankit Srivastava, a former contractual consultant with the DJB, and private persons Nagendra Yadav, Raja Kumar Kurra and Pankaj Verma, the ACB said in a statement.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) agreed to use an exceptional power under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against students who joined nationwide protests over the NEET-UG exam paper leaks that led to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister and compelled the government to introspect. The court sought a list of FIRs in which only students were named.

The questionnaire or the schedule for the population enumeration phase of Census 2027, which has gone live in Ladakh and snow-bound areas of three other States ahead of the rest of the country, seeks information on religion, date of birth and place of birth up to the village level of both the father and mother, according to the questions seen by The Hindu . Under the data head “Family Particulars,” the questionnaire also has an option to record the place of birth of the father and mother if they were born outside India. Other than the six religions—Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim and Jain—respondents can record “other religion” in a separate column.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) officials said that 600 experts from its examination team have been removed and new experts onboarded as part of a revamp.