Supreme Court’s former Justice R. Subhash Reddy will head the five-member High-Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC) constituted by the apex court to investigate allegations of police excesses during the students’ march from Jantar Mantar towards Parliament on July 20.

The other members of the panel are: the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s former Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha, Delhi High Court’s former judge, Justice Shalinder Kaur, the Central Bureau of Investigation’s former Director Rishi Kumar Shukla, and Meghalaya’s former DGP, Dr L.R. Bishnoi.

The Supreme Court said in its order that the constitution of the HPEC “shall in no way deter or debar the Police authorities or other security forces from taking administrative or disciplinary action against such of their officers as may be found to be in contravention of the rules governing their conduct”.

The issues identified for investigation by the Committee include allegations of excessive force, including pellet guns, electric batons, lathi charges and tear gas, as well as the question whether police responses were proportionate to the constitutional right to peaceful protest.

It will also examine whether police/security personnel were properly identifiable through uniforms and nameplates.

In its order delivered on Tuesday, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant directed the HPEC to look into “the use of excessive force and violence against protestors by police authorities and other agencies, including the deployment of pellet guns, electric batons, lathi charges, and tear gas without adequate warning or proportionality, resulting in severe bodily harm and injuries, some of which are alleged to be of a grievous and lasting nature”.

The Committee will also look into the necessity of ensuring that police and security personnel wear proper uniforms and visible nameplates at the time of effecting arrests or using force during crowd control operations, so as to secure accountability and enable the identification of individual officers.

The CJI clarified that the larger constitutional questions related to facial recognition technology, surveillance and privacy will be decided by the apex court itself and not by the committee.

The Supreme Court also directed the presentation of CCTV footage to the Committee for investigation.

“The Police Authorities, Para-Military Forces, and other Investigating Agencies, who were directed vide order dated July 28, 2026, to preserve all CCTV footage, drone footage, body-worn camera recordings, videography, wireless communication records, and PCR call logs pertaining to the student protests, and furnish the entire record to the HPEC and extend their full cooperation,” it said.

The court asked the Committee to complete its inquiry and deliberations and submit its ‘First Interim Report’ at the earliest.

Alleged violence, harassment, and molestation of women protesters; provision for medical assistance and compensation for injured protesters; use of prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS and whether Section 152 BNSS was used in a manner that could suppress peaceful political dissent will also be examined by the panel.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has signed a decree declaring a 30-day state of economic, social and ecological emergency in parts of the country hit by the August 10 earthquake.

The decree, signed after a cabinet meeting in Bogota on Wednesday (local time), covers 15 affected departments, including Valle del Cauca, Risaralda and Caldas, as the government seeks to respond to what it described as a grave public calamity.

De la Espriella said the emergency measures were aimed at not only rebuilding damaged homes, but also restoring businesses and essential public infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, reports Xinhua news agency.

Colombia was facing the “most complex” fiscal situation in its republican history, making extraordinary measures necessary, he said.

The president said his government would cut spending on some non-priority programs from the previous administration to meet current national needs, while ensuring that the most vulnerable people were not affected.

According to figures released by Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management as of Wednesday evening, the 7.4-magnitude earthquake in western Colombia had killed 319 people, injured 4,469 and left 260 missing. A total of 364 people had been rescued.

The agency said 476 municipalities across 15 departments had been affected, with some 272,830 people impacted by the disaster.

National and international search-and-rescue teams continued combing through the rubble to locate the missing people, with 358 people reportedly rescued so far.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said more than 220 tonnes of humanitarian aid had arrived in the country and 144 international specialists had joined emergency response efforts.

Many affected residents remained in temporary shelters and tents in parks in the hardest-hit areas of Valle del Cauca, Risaralda and Choco.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday launched a fresh attack on the Congress over the decision of its Working Committee to continue with the practice of singing only the first two stanzas of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ at party programmes, accusing the grand old party of disrespecting the national song and the sentiments associated with it.

The BJP’s reactions came a day after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolved to continue following the tradition established through a 1937 CWC decision, under which only the first two stanzas of ‘Vande Mataram’ are recited during Congress events.

The decision has assumed significance as the Centre has recently made the complete rendition of the national song part of official protocol.Reacting sharply to the Congress decision, Madhya Pradesh Minister Vishwas Sarang accused the party of dividing not only the country but also the national song, while questioning the Congress leadership’s understanding of the historical significance of ‘Vande Mataram’.

Sarang, speaking to IANS, said, “The Congress has divided this country and has also divided Vande Mataram. The Congress has been committing this sin. Whether it was Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi, they have all been involved. Just four days ago, look at the way Sonia Gandhi insulted Vande Mataram. You talk about dividing the country, and you are dividing Vande Mataram.”He further highlighted the role of ‘Vande Mataram’ during India’s freedom struggle and said the song had served as a source of inspiration for those freedom fighters who fought against British rule.

“How can Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi know the significance of Vande Mataram?” Sarang said.

BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh also criticised the Congress, alleging that the party frequently takes positions that hurt the sentiments of a large section of the country’s population.”Congress does everything that hurts the sentiments of the majority of people in this country. It does everything that goes against them, and Congress needs to look at itself in the mirror,” Singh told IANS.

He further attributed the Congress’ present political position to what he described as the party’s double standards and said that its approach had contributed to its decline despite its long political history.”It is because of this very double standards that, despite being the largest and oldest party, it has reached this stage today,” Singh said.Bihar government minister Vijay Sinha launched a strong attack on the Congress over its decision, accusing the party of being influenced by what he described as appeasement politics and questioning its understanding of Indian culture and the national song.

Speaking to IANS, Sinha said, “Congress is mentally enslaved, and the people in Congress are like bonded labourers. Such appeasement decisions at the behest of Sonia Gandhi, who is far removed from Indian culture and doesn’t even understand the meaning of ‘Vande Mataram’, would be suicidal.””This country will not accept anyone who doesn’t respect Mother India,” he added.Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP MLA Ram Kadam said that ‘Vande Mataram’ had played a crucial role in inspiring revolutionaries and freedom fighters during India’s struggle for Independence.

Speaking to IANS, Kadam said, “Vande Mataram was the slogan of the revolutionaries and a source of inspiration during the freedom struggle. Many patriots went to the gallows, endured imprisonment and suffered lathi charges while chanting Vande Mataram.”Kadam alleged that the Congress had repeatedly criticised or questioned the national song and said that its recent position had drawn “widespread criticism from people across the country”.Meanwhile, the Congress continues to maintain its longstanding practice of singing the first two stanzas like it did during its struggle for India’s Independence and even after the nation became free.