KOZHIKODE l Saturday l may 16, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION CJI likens some unemployed youth to roaches, parasites lambasted for seeking better designation Likening unemployed youngsters to cockroaches, CJI Surya Kant said Friday they go on to “become” social media activists and attack the system 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 L3 a litre more for petrol, diesel Chennithala set to get home & vigilance; Muraleedharan, Sunny among Cong picks Freight rates set to jump, analysts see 15-25 basis points hike in retail inflation R akesh K u mar @ 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 have 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 L103.67 Petrol in Delhi will now cost C97.77 a litre against C94.77 earlier. New cost of diesel is C90.67, up from from C87.67. In Chennai, petrol price has climbed to C103.67, up from C100.80 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 K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram BRICS FM meet fails to issue joint statement J ayanth J a 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”. NEET re-exam on June 21, future tests to go online e x p ress ne w s ser 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. EXPRESS READ 99.07% students pass SSLC examination T’Puram: A success rate of 99.07% was recorded in the SSLC exam 2026, the results of which were announced on Friday. The pass percentage this year denoted a marginal dip of 0.43% compared to the success rate of 99.95% registered last year. P5 IMD: Monsoon likely to reach Kerala on May 26 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 an expert on the panel that sets the NEET-UG question papers | P8 T’Puram: The southwest monsoon is likely to set in over Kerala on May 26, well ahead of its normal onset date of June 1. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon could arrive anytime between May 22 and May 30. P2 Chief Minister-designate V D Satheesan visits outgoing CM Pinarayi Vijayan at his residence near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday | Express Rebuilding bond on Day 1 visits 4 CMs to attend swearing-in event T’Puram: CM-designate V D Satheesan on Friday visited outgoing CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Ramesh Chennith-ala at their residences, and P J Joseph at MLA quarters. He also visited the house of ex-speaker G Karthikeyan. P4 T’Puram: The swearing in ceremony of V D Satheesan on Monday is set to be high profile political event with at least four CMs, including Joseph Vijay, and the Gandhi family expected to attend the event. P4 Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who is upset after being sidelined in the chief ministerial race, is set to join the V D Satheesan cabinet with Home and Vigilance portfolios. In a bid to placate the leader, who stayed away from party meetings as a mark of protest, the high command directed the CM-designate to induct him into the cabinet with the high-profile portfolios. Sources said the high command move was aimed at striking a balance between party factions. The crucial intervention came amid reports that Chennithala might refuse to join the cabinet. Though there was a consensus that Chennithala should be given the two crucial portfolios, some leaders close to Satheesan were reportedly against it. However, the high command made it clear to Satheesan that Chennithala was fully eligible for the role, considering his seniority Also, the high com. mand reminded the CM-designate that Chennithala was one of the contenders for the top post, said sources. There are indications that Chennithala may take up the offer. Earlier in the day, after Satheesan paid a visit to Chennithala’s residence, AICC general secretary Deepa Dasmunsi also met him and held an hourlong discussion to convince him to join the team. Meanwhile, the Congress and the UDF have initiated informal discussions on cabinet formation. The Satheesan cabinet to be sworn-in on Monday would be a mix of seniors and fresh faces, while maintaining community equa- V D Satheesan having a chat with senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala at the latter’s residence in Thiruvananthapuram | Albin Mathew tions and regional balances. The Congress will have 11 ministers, including the CM, in the 21-member cabinet. The K C Venugopal camp is keen to ensure sufficient representation in the team. Besides Chennithala, a slew of senior leaders, including KPCC chief Sunny Joseph, K Muraleedharan, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, KPCC working presidents A P Anil Kumar and P C Vishnunadh, in addition to M Liju, are expected to make it to cabinet. Kollam leader Bindu Krishna or Satheesan loyalist Shanimol Usman could be the woman face of the cabinet. KC loyalist T Siddique or Anwar Sadath from the Chennithala camp could also be considered. To ensure community equations, either Mathew Kuzhalnadan or Roji M John is likely to get a berth. Similarly either N Sakthan or M , Vincent could be the pick from the capital district. If Thiruvanchoor is dropped from the list, Chandy Oommen could be considered.  ● More on P4 Stand ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’, says PM as UAE announces $5bn investment jayanth ja 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 “shoulderto-shoulder” with Abu Dhabi as the two countries signed a series of major agreements spanning energy, defence, trade, shipping and advanced technology while the Gulf na, tion 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 grow- 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. ing 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 PM Narendra Modi with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan | PTI cooperation on India’s strategic 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 . N o d t o c r y o preser v e e g g s HC protects transgender man’s parenthood dream E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @Kochi Hari Devageeth’s fight was never just about a medical procedure, it was about preserving the possibility of parenthood while affirming his identity The 28-year-old trans. gender man, who was assigned female at birth, finally found relief after the Kerala High Court allowed him to cryopreserve his eggs by approaching an ART bank of his choice. In a compassionate order, Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen directed that the chosen ART bank should take necessary steps to retrieve and preserve Hari’s oocytes (immature egg cells) so they may be used for reproduction in future. Hari told the court that he is yet to complete his genderaf fir mation surgery. Once it is done, he will permanently lose his reproductive capacity , including through the removal of his ovaries and uterus. Before taking that irreversible step, he wanted the opportunity to preserve his gametes, to fulfil his hope of one day having a biological child. The court said the petitioner, being a biological woman, had all the rights to preserve the oocytes since the Supreme Court has held that the right to reproduction is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution, right to life. The petitioner also said none of the authorities concerned informed him about the aspect before he obtained the certificate under Section 7 of the Transgender Act or before the removal of breasts. The court said it was The petitioner, being a biological woman, had all the rights to preserve oocytes since the SC has held that the right to reproduction is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution — High Court the duty of the appropriate government to give proper awareness to transgender persons regarding preservation of their oocytes or sperms before they start treatment to change their gender. No document was produced by authorities to prove that such awareness or counselling was provided to the petitioner, the court said. The HC said merely because the petitioner approached an ART clinic instead of an ART bank, it would not be appropriate to deny such benefit to him. The court directed the petitioner to approach the nearest ART bank for the cryopreservation of his gametes. Bhojshala in Dhar a Saraswati temple: HC A n u raa g S in g h @ Bhopal THE Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday ruled that the disputed BhojshalaKamal 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 had in April 2003 restricted the right of Hindus to worship within the Bhojshala complex. After hearing a batch of petitions and intervention applications by representatives 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 248-page 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.”