TIRUNELVELI l saturday l may 16, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION CJI likens some unemployed youth to roaches, parasites Likening unemployed youngsters to cockroaches, CJI Surya Kant said Friday they go on to “become” social media activists and attack the system lambasted for seeking better designation petitioner’s language cause of concern The comments came while a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was pulling up a lawyer for “pursuing” senior advocate designation. It said there were “parasites” in society who attack the system and asked if the petitioner wanted to join hands with them. “The entire world may be eligible to become senior (advocate), but you are not entitled,” the SC said ■ ■ A visibly anguished CJI observed that if the Delhi High Court would confer senior advocate designation upon the petitioner, the apex court would set that aside seeing his professional conduct The CJI referred to the kind of language used by the petitioner on Facebook. The bench later allowed withdrawal of the petition | P7 CBI Could be asked to verify degrees of all those in black robes, says SC CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Pay `3 a litre more for petrol, diesel Diesel price touched `95.45 per litre in Chennai on Friday | Ashwin prasath Diesel price: TN transport corpns to lose `175 cr a year B A NBUSE LV A N @ Chennai The hike in the price of high-speed diesel by `2.86 per litre by the oil marketing companies is expected to cost Tamil Nadu’s debt-ridden transport corporations, which rank among the largest diesel consumers in the country an estimated `175.58 , crore annually in losses. Around 19,000 buses operated by the eight state transport undertakings — State Express Transport Corporation (SETC), Metropolitan T ranspor t Cor poration (MTC) and the six divisions of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) — consume an average of 16.82 lakh litres of highspeed diesel a day to run services covering nearly 81 lakh kilometres across 10,120 routes in the state. According to Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru, secretary, Transport Department, the daily loss of the eight transport corporations, which already stands at around `19 crore, is expected to rise further by `48.11 lakh per day due to the spike in fuel expenses. “The annual loss is estimated at `175.58 crore, provided there is no further hike in fuel prices. Around 19,000 buses are pressed into service every day, connecting nearly 98% of the villages in the state with a population of over 1,000 people,” he said. The state transport undertakings spend around `5,200 crore annually for purchasing high-speed diesel, which makes up nearly 26% of the total expenditure incurred on operating buses. According to a section of transport workers’ unions, one of the key reasons for the mounting debts of the transport corporations is the failure to raise bus fares in proportion to rising fuel costs. Despite repeated demands, the previous DMK regime refused to hike the bus fare. It may be recalled that the government bus fares were last hiked in January 2018, when the price of high-speed diesel stood at `65 per litre. The price has now climbed to `95 per litre.  P5 Freight rates set to jump, analysts see 15-25 basis points hike in retail inflation Ra k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi The inevitable finally happened on Friday with oil marketing companies , (OMCs) raising petrol and diesel prices by `3 per litre, while compressed natural gas (CNG) prices for automobiles were increased by `2 per kg. This is the first hike in petrol and diesel prices ever since state-run refiners suspended daily fuel price revisions in April 2022. The last revision came in March 2024, when prices were cut by `2 per litre ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Friday’s announcement comes amid disruptions in global oil and gas supplies following the escalation of conflict in West Asia after attacks by Israel and the US on Iran on February 28. The impact of the price hike is expected to be felt across logistics, transportation, freight and e-commerce sectors, as well as other industries. “We expect freight rates across sectors to increase by approximately 2.53% immediately,” said Ashok Goyal, National President of the All India Transporters Welfare Association. Economists and analysts expect the price hike to result in a 15-25 basis points increase in retail inflation. The full impact of the hike is likely to be reflected in June inflation numbers. “The pass-through effect of the fuel price hikes is likely to increase CPI inflation by 15 basis points,” said Megha Arora, Director at India Ratings and Research. She added that the diesel price hike would have a wider impact because of its extensive use in transportation, coastal fishing boats, tourism, e-commerce operations and by aqua farmers for running aerators. Analysts believe the fuel price hike will provide only limited relief to OMCs. According to Prashant Vasisht of ICRA, despite the hike, OMCs will continue to incur losses of about `500 crore daily on the sale of auto fuels and domestic LPG. Transporters will to partially pass on the burden to customers. We expect freight rates to increase by about 2.5-3% Ashok Goyal, prez, All India Transporters Welfare Association Chennai petrol `103.67 Petrol in Delhi will now cost `97.77 a litre against `94.77 earlier. New cost of diesel is `90.67, up from from `87.67. In Chennai, petrol price has climbed to `103.67, up from `100.80 2-state solution On Palestine, BRICS members reaffirmed support for a two-state solution and backed the creation of an independent Palestinian within the 1967 borders BRICS FM meet fails to issue joint statement Jaya n t h Ja c o b @ New Delhi Foreign ministers of the BRICS grouping failed to issue a joint communique after a two-day meeting in New Delhi on Friday, with sharp divisions over the Iran and Gaza wars exposing geopolitical fault lines within the expanded bloc that now includes both Iran and the UAE. The breakdown in consensus was driven primarily by objections raised by Iran to key paragraphs in the draft outcome document dealing with West Asia, Gaza and maritime security sources said. , According to sources, Tehran opposed paragraph 26, which addressed the Gaza and Palestine issue, and paragraph 29, which referenced the importance of ensuring “the exercise of navigational rights and freedoms of vessels of all states in the Red Sea and Bab AlMandab Strait, in accordance with international law”. As a result, host India was forced to issue a chair’s statement and outcome document that mentioned “a member had reservations on some aspects of this paragraph,” without naming any country . Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested that the UAE had blocked consensus language due to its alignment with Israel and the US. “There were differing views among some members as regards the situation in the West Asia/Middle East region,” India said in the chair statement. It also highlighted shared concerns over regional instability and stressed the importance of “safe and unimpeded maritime commerce through international waterways”. cover drive A family travelling on a bike in Puducherry takes cover under an umbrella as moderate rain lashed the union territory on Friday. According to the met department, heavy rain is likely in Villupuram, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai and Theni on Saturday | Sriram R NEET re-exam on June 21, online test from next yr e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi EDUCATION Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday announced that the the reexamination for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Undergraduate 2026 will be held on June 21. The fresh exam comes after the original test was cancelled on May 12 following question paper leak. The re-examination will be conducted in the conventional pen-and-paper (offline) mode and will be available in 13 languages. The exam fee for the cancelled test will be fully refunded, and no additional fee will be charged for the re-test. Starting next year, the NEET-UG exam will shift to computer-based test mode, the National Testing Agency said. Briefing the media, Pradhan said, “The decision to cancel the NEET-UG exam was announced on May 12 only in the interest of meritorious students. We do not want any wrong candidate to take up the seat, which rightfully belongs to a genuine candidate, with the help of the machinations of education mafia.” In a significant change, the duration of the exam has been extended by 15 minutes. It will now be held from 2 pm to 5.15 pm. Admit cards, centre intimation slips, and other details will be released by June 14. Students can update their present address and select examination cities from May 15 to May 21 (up to 11.50 pm). Candidates can indicate their first and second choice of examination cities during this period. No corrections in other particulars will be permitted except for the present address and choice of centre. Requests for changes will be entertained till the May 21 deadline. E x p r e s s Re a d Roll back fuel price hike, Vijay tells centre Our priority is the future of students. I appeal to all students to appear for the exam without fear. We won’t let malpractice happen this time Dharmendra Pradhan, Education minister Kingpin arrested from Pune Three days into its probe, the CBI on Friday said it had cracked the NEET paper leak case with the arrest of a Pune-based Prof P V Kulkarni, the “source” of the leak. He is a expert on the panel that sets the NEET-UG question papers | P8 Chennai: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday sharply criticised the `3 per litre hike in petrol and diesel prices, describing it as unacceptable and burdensome for poor and ordinary people. Urging the centre to withdraw the hike, he pointed out that when crude oil prices fall in international market, oil companies do not reduce petrol and diesel prices proportionately, instead retain profits for themselves | P4 Pleas of AIADMK rivals under review: Speaker Chennai: As the tug of war between the two rival AIADMK factions continued, Assembly Speaker J C D Prabhakar on Friday said the representations from both groups — one led by Edappadi K Palaniswami and the other by C Ve Shanmugam — regarding the appointment of the legislature party leader, whip and other office-bearers are under his consideration and that he would take appropriate decision on the petitions | P4 Stand ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’, says PM as UAE announces $5bn investment j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reiterated India’s support for the United Arab Emirates amid instability in West Asia, declaring that New Delhi stands “shoulder-toshoulder” with Abu Dhabi as the two countries signed a series of major agreements spanning energy, defence, trade, shipping and advanced technology, while the Gulf nation also announced investments worth USD 5 billion in India. During wide-ranging talks in Abu Dhabi with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Modi strongly condemned attacks targeting UAE and stressed that ensuring stability in the Gulf, particularly the security of the Strait of Hormuz, was a shared strategic priority . “The way the UAE has been targeted is unacceptable in any way,” Modi said during the meeting, held against the backdrop of rising tensions linked to the Iran conflict and growing UAE my second home, says PM In a personal gesture, Modi described the UAE as his “second home” and thanked the Emirati leadership for the warm reception accorded to him, including an escort by UAE Air Force. He expressed gratitude to the UAE government and the royal family for their support to the Indian diaspora during the ongoing regional crisis. threats to regional shipping and energy infrastructure. The visit, the first leg of Modi’s five-nation tour, highlighted how rapidly the India-UAE relationship has evolved from an economic partnership into a broader strategic alignment. A major focus of the visit was energy security. Among agreements signed was a strategic pact with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to expand cooperation on India’s strate- PM Narendra Modi with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan | PTI gic petroleum reserves and exploring collaboration in LNG and LPG infrastructure. The agreement will increase UAE’s participation in India’s petroleum reserves to 30 million barrels while also supporting the development of strategic gas reserves. Modi stressed that keeping the Strait of Hormuz “free, open and safe” was critical for global economic stability and energy security . TN loses mega defence flight testing Bhojshala in Dhar a Saraswati temple, rules MP HC hub to Andhra amid regional rivalry A n u r aa g S i n g h @ Bhopal C S h i v a k u m a r @ Chennai Tamil Nadu has lost out to Andhra Pradesh in securing the proposed Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) flight testing and integration complex, a key defence aerospace project linked to India’s fifth-generation stealth fighter programme, with the union government backing Andhra Pradesh for the facility . Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for the `15,000-crore AMCA defence hub in Puttaparthi on Friday. The development comes in spite of the technically superior infrastructure conditions offered by Tamil Nadu, according to highlyplaced sources. However, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is yet to give an official reason for the decision. The Tamil Nadu government had been in talks with DRDO for the past three years to anchor the project in Hosur. The proposal envisaged the AMCA flight testing and integration complex to be developed alongside the proposed Hosur airport, with the testing facility on one side and the passenger terminal on the other. Officials familiar with the discussions also noted that the original runway at the Andhra site was about 2.1 km long, when compared to the proposed 3.5-km runway planned at Hosur. AP would need to extend the runway by procuring additional land. (Read full report on www.newindianexpress.com) THE Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday ruled that the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque complex in Dhar district is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while simultaneously quashing a decades-old ASI order that allowed the Muslim community to offer Friday prayers at the site. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had in April 2003 restricted the right of Hindus to worship within the Bhojshala complex. After hearing a batch of petitions and intervention applications filed by representatives Muslim petitioners set to move SC All the Muslim petitioners of the case on Friday said that they will challenge the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s decision declaring the disputed Bhojshala structure in Dhar district to be a Saraswati temple of the Hindu, Muslim and Jain communities for 24 days following directions by the Supreme Court, a division bench of the High Court, comprising Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi, stated in its 248page order, “Historical literature established that the character of the disputed area at Bhojshala was a Centre of Sanskrit learning associated with Parmar dynasty king Raja Bhoj and the literature and architectural reference, including those connected with Raja Bhoj period indicate the existence of a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati at Dhar.” While allowing and dispos- ing the petitions filed by the Hindu side — the Hindu Front for Justice, Kuldeep Tiwari and others, the high court bench said, “The disputed area of Bhojshala and Kamal Maula Mosque is held to be protected monument under Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, with effect from March 18, 1904. The religious character of the disputed area of the complex is held to be a Bhojshala with a temple of Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati).” The bench clarified that the Muslim side may approach the state government for separate land in the district to construct a mosque.