BELAGAVI  SATURDAY  MAY 23, 2026  `9.00  PAGES 14  LATE CITY EDITION MICHEL DANINO SUPARNA DIWAKAR ALOK PRASANNA DELETES ADVERSE REMARKS IN MARCH 11 ORDER The March 11 order had directed the Centre and states to disassociate from the academicians over a controversial chapter on corruption in judiciary OBSERVATION NOT ON INDIVIDUALS: COURT A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi deleted the adverse remarks against Professor Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar and Alok Prasanna Kumar that the academicians had deliberately misrepresented facts. It recalled its direction to blacklist the authors, saying the authorities can take an independent decision | NCERT BOOK ROW: SC MODIFIES ORDER BLACKLISTING 3 ACADEMIC EXPERTS ■ ■ The bench passed the order while hearing an application filed by the academicians, who explained that no individual had the sole say in the drafting of the content and it was a collective process The court said its observations were on the contents and not on the individuals, adding that the contents were “wholly undesirable” CENTRE WILL NOT ASSOCIATE WITH THE 3 EXPERTS, SOLICITOR GENERAL TUSHAR MEHTA TOLD 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 SETTING a new record in its evaluation process, the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) announced the finals e m e s t e r B E a n d B Te ch examination results within 10 minutes of completion of exams on Friday . According to the university, 56,192 students appeared for the exams. The practical exams concluded at 5.30 pm and the results were declared by 5.40 pm. The overall result stood at 99.98% The results were jointly released by Vice-Chancellor S Vidyashankar and Registrar (Evaluation) UJ Ujwal. VTU stated that exams for final-year students studying in 220 engineering colleges under the university were conducted from the first week of May The . theory examination answer scripts had already been evaluated and stored digitally in advance. The practical exams were held on Friday from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Within five minutes of the exams concluding, the marks were consolidated. The results were processed and announced within 10 minutes. Prof Vidyashankar said VTU has consistently focused on adopting technology in examination and evaluation systems. “Announcing results within 10 minutes of exam completion is not an easy task. Final-year students wait for results for placements and higher education opportunities, and we wanted to ensure there was no delay,” he said. He also credited the examination section staff, administrative officials and affiliated colleges for the achievement. P7 @ New Delhi Bumper payout to help govt surmount the financial distress due to West Asia conflict B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai THE Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced a bumper payout of `2.87 lakh crore to the Central government for the year ended March 2026 (FY26). The surplus for FY26, which will be transferred in FY27, is nearly 7% higher than `2.68 lakh crore for FY25 and will help the government tide over the revenue constraints due to geopolitical tensions. The latest transfer was possible due to a 21% expansion in the central bank’s balance sheet, driven by large open market operations and dollar sales during the year. “Taking into consideration the current macroeconomic factors, financial performance of the Bank and maintenance of appropriate risk buffers, the Central Board decided to transfer `1,09,379.64 crore towards the contingent risk buffer (CRB) for FY26 as against `44,861.70 crore in the previous year, and maintain the CRB at 6.5% of the balance sheet. Accordingly it decided to , transfer `2,86,588.46 crore as surplus to the government for the accounting year 202526,” RBI said in a statement after its board meeting chaired by Governor Sanjay Malhotra. This is third year in a row that RBI has transferred over `2 lakh crore to the Central government. It transferred `2.1 lakh crore in FY25. The central bank said its gross income rose 26.42% year-on-year, while expenditure before risk provisions increased 27.6%. Net income before risk provisions and transfer to statutory funds stood at `3.96 lakh crore in FY26 against `3.13 lakh crore in FY25. RBI’s balance sheet expanded 20.61% year-on-year to `91.97 lakh crore. Under the revised Economic Capital Framework adopted in 2019, RBI can maintain the CRB between 4.5% and 7.5% of the balance sheet. The central bank retained the CRB at 6.5% for the second consecutive year. The balance sheet of the bank expanded by 20.61% to `91,97,121.08 crore (`91.98 crore) as on March 31, 2026 Reserve Bank of India SURPLUS TRANSFER (`CRORE) 2,10,874 2,68,590 2,86,588 @Bengaluru S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y 57,128 99,122 30,307 87,416 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE `2.87 lakh crore Umar Khalid case sent to larger bench RBI ‘gift’ amid economic stress 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 VTU declares engg results just 10 mins after exams JOINING issue with a coordinate bench that criticised the denial of bail to Delhi riots accused Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, arrested under the harsh Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a bench of justices Aravind Kumar and P B Varale referred the matter to a larger bench to resolve the perceived conflict in the higher judiciary . A three-judge bench had in the Union of India v KA Najeeb case, held that long incarceration can be a ground to THE Indian Air Force, the world’s last operator of the Jaguar strike aircraft, is facing a fresh sustainment challenge after Martin-Baker informed it that more than 250 categories of critical spares for the fleet’s ejection seats can no longer be supplied. Sources in said the Mk 9 ejection seats fitted across the Jaguar fleet, including trainer variants, are facing growing obsolescence as the original equipment manuf acturer (OEM) is unable to meet a substantial portion of the IAF’s spares requirement. “Repairs are being undertaken in-house but addressing the issue is critical if the ejection seats are to remain viable in the long run. Any substitute parts must meet the exact design, material and performance specifications of the origiPRESS nal components,” a CLUSIVE source said. Mk 9’s seat lacks automatic ejection capability and requires the pilot to manually initiate escape by pulling the ejection handle. That poses challenges. Bird strikes, engine failures at low altitude or pilot incapacitation can leave little margin for a successful escape. The IAF is simultaneously pursuing foreign sourcing op- tions and working with domestic industry on a long-term indigenous solution. “The industry has been tasked with developing an advanced ejection seat that can ensure safe pilot ejection at all speeds and altitudes. We are looking at a seat that can be integrated across multiple fighter platforms with little or no modification,” the source added. U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on Friday pulled up the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for blaming celebrated grappler Vinesh Phogat, who “suffered a heartbreak in the Olympics”, instead of fixing the responsibility on the sports managers. The court also said that Phogat, seeking return from a maternity break, should not be “denounced for PRESS INTAKE Political slugfest over withdrawl of cases | P6 6 former Naxals still wait for relief | P11 Mk9 seats Manufacturer Martin-Baker says it can no longer supply over 250 categories of spares for the Jaguar’s ejection seats PAST WONDERS Ancient drainage unearthed in Hampi K I RA N BA L A N N A N AVA R @ Hampi, Hosapete IN a major archaeological breakthrough, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Hampi Circle, has unearthed one of the ancient drainage systems, which was discovered during the ongoing scientific excavation at the famed Hazara Rama Temple in Hampi on Friday . The excavation, being carried out by the ASI team at the historic temple complex, also led to the discovery of two more Alvar sculptures, adding to the series of significant findings reported from the site in recent weeks. Earlier, ASI had exposed two buried Alvar fig- ures and traces of a Jain temple roof structure during the scientific clearance work on the temple premises. K Ramakrishnan Reddy, Superintending Archaeologist, Hampi Circle, told The New Indian Express the newly exposed drainage structure is believed to have been part of an advanced water management and ritual system developed during the Vijayanagara period. Archaeologists suspect the massive stone-lined channel was designed to carry water during the rainy season and also used for ritual cleansing and ablution of temple idols from the sanctum to the outer sections of the temple complex. The drainage network, con- structed using finely carved granite stone slabs, reflects the remarkable engineering skills of the Vijayanagara architects. Officials said the structure remained buried under layers of debris and soil for centuries before being revealed during the ongoing excavation. P7 Kumar-led bench observed that Najeeb was not a mathematical command to mechanically grant bail if there was a delay in trial. It pointed out that bail was granted to five accused on January 5 and denied to Khalid and Imam following an individualised assessment of their roles. ‘Law grew through reasoned differences’ “A coordinate bench cannot make strong observations and effectively unsettle the ratio of an earlier bench while sitting in equal strength. The law has often grown through reasoned differences,” the court said, adding a coordinate bench may, however, express doubt Delhi HC tears into WFI for blaming Phogat over Olympic disqualification IAF grapples with supply crunch for Jaguar’s ejection seat spare parts J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi grant bail in cases under the UAPA. Citing this verdict, a bench of Justices Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan had said, “Judicial discipline and certainty demands that Benches of smaller strength are mindful of the decisions rendered by larger Benches and are bound to follow the same.” In its rebuttal, the Aravind An Alvar statue and the drainage system unearthed during the ongoing scientific excavation at Hazara Rama Temple in Hampi on Friday becoming a mother”. A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia described her as “a wrestler of international repute” and reprimanded the federation for its decision to declare Phogat “ineligible” to participate in domestic events. It said it would pass an order on whether she can join the upcoming Asian Games selection trials. Ther bench was appalled by the WFI’s show-cause notice to Phogat, which blamed her for causing “national embarrassment” by being disqualified from the Paris Olympics for being overweight ahead of her gold medal match. “Was it a national shame? She was in the finals. How did the people of the country look at the event? Is that how you are serving the cause of wrestling in the country?” the bench said. The order dictated in the open court said the issue concerns the proper constitutional approach to be adopted, where the prolonged incarceration and delay in conclusion of the trial are pressed as the grounds for bail, notwithstanding the statutory constraint contained in Section 43D(5) of UAPA. The bench was considering arguments made by the Delhi Police in the petitions filed by two other accused Tasleem Ahmed and Khalid Saifi seeking bail. It granted them interim bail for six months. EXPRESS READ Election to 4 RS seats in K’taka on June 18 New Delhi: The Election Commission announced polls for 24 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states on June 18 following retirement of incumbents, including former PM HD Deve Gowda and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. The elections will be held for four seats each in Karnataka, AP and Gujarat, three each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two in Jharkhand and one each in Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram | P4, 9