All 9 Polity & Governance updates published in May 2026, grouped into 6 subtopics. Each one carries the exam-relevant facts and its GK Bytes; open an update for the complete note with static GK.
The Home Ministry set up a committee chaired by Justice (Retd.) Prakash Prabhakar Navlekar to study demographic change from illegal immigration and recommend measures on deportation and border management, with its report due within one year.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan took a critical view of bail denial in the 2020 Delhi riots larger-conspiracy case, noting (18 May) that a January 2026 judgment overlooked the binding precedent in Union of India v. K.A. Najeeb (2021). On 22 May the Court granted six-month interim bail to Khalid Saifi and Tasleem Ahmad and referred to a larger bench whether prolonged pre-trial incarceration should outweigh stringent UAPA bail conditions.
President Droupadi Murmu promulgated the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, raising the number of judges (excluding the CJI) from 33 to 37, taking total strength from 34 to 38. The Union Cabinet had approved the proposal on 5 May 2026 to help clear pendency.
The Supreme Court upheld the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, affirming the Election Commission's power under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Results for West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry were announced. The BJP won a majority in West Bengal, retained Assam for a third term, and the Congress-led UDF won Kerala ousting the LDF, alongside regional churn in Tamil Nadu.
As the ECI prepared to conduct a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Manipur, the Supreme Court asked it to accept voter ID cards as valid documents, given the displacement of tribal communities amid ethnic violence.
The Court held that the ECI can undertake a limited inquiry into an individual's citizenship to decide eligibility for inclusion in the electoral roll, but clarified that such a determination is not a final or conclusive decision on citizenship.
The Labour Ministry notified rules operationalising the four Labour Codes, capping weekly working hours at 48, allowing women night shifts with consent and safeguards, and granting gig/platform workers social-security eligibility.
The rules define a vehicle not declared fit within 180 days as an 'end-of-life vehicle' and require geo-tagged video capture of fitness tests uploaded via a central government app, tightening the vehicle-scrappage framework.