The Editorial Page: In Vinesh Phogat vs wrestling system, the champion is on the mat 10 SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2026 JourNaliSM of CouraGe LucKNow, LATE cITy, 20 PAGES ₹6.00 l www.indianexpress.com dA I Ly F R o M : A H M E dA B A d , c H A N d I GA R H , d E L H I , J A I P u R , Ko L K ATA , L u c K N o w , M u M B A I , N AG P u R , PAT N A , P u N E , VA d o dA R A eduCaTIoN mINIsTer aCkNowledGes breaCh IN CommaNd ChaIN Energy to defence, India, UAE deepen ties; PM calls for Arrested lecturer was involved opening of Hormuz in exam on NTA behalf: CBI NEET insider held for paper leak, Govt says exam to be online from next year Retest on June 21, admit cards by June 14, says Pradhan abhinaya harigovind New Delhi, May 15 Three DAyS after the NeeTuG examination for admission to undergraduate medical courseswascancelledfollowing an alleged paper leak, education minister Dharmendra pradhan said Friday that it will be a computer-based examinationnextyearonward.Sofar,it has been a pen-and-paper test. he also announced that the NationalTestingAgency(NTA) will conduct the NeeT-uG retest on June 21. It will be held from2pmto5.15pm,andadmit cards will be issued by June 14. Over22lakhcandidateshad taken the examination on may 3 which was cancelled later. Infirstremarkssincecancellationoftheexamination,pradhantoldthepressthattheswitch Happening today lThe NeTherlaNds King and Queen will receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague. PM Modi and PM Rob Jetten will later hold delegation talks and attend an informal dinner. education minister dharmendra Pradhan in new delhi, Friday. ANI E. Why cbt took so long PAge 12 tocomputer-basedtestingwasa recommendation of the committeeconstitutedbytheCentre in 2024 in the wake of a paper leak then, but this suggestion had not been implemented so far.Theseven-membercommit- carrying LPG, which safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz, is expected to arrive at Kandla Port in Gujarat. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com Bhopal, May 15 business as Usual By EP UNNY world PAge 14 »CoNTINued oN PaGe 2 mahender singh manral, soham shah & vallabh ozarkar New Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, May 15 AS pArT of its probe into the NeeT-uG 2026 paper leak case, theCBIhasarrestedaretiredlecturer from pune who it said was involved in the examination processonbehalfoftheNational Testing Agency (NTA) and had access to the question papers. TheCBIisalsolearnttohave asked the ministry of education to provide a list of persons involved in the procedure of preparing the question papers. The CBI arrested p V Kulkarni from pune, identifying himasthe“sourceoftheNeeT- UK govt fAces UncertAInty over stArmer’s fUtUre As Pm A 150-PAge Pdf, A teAcher’s sense of dUty: hoW leAK WAs eXPosed PAge 8 uG 2026 examination paper leaks”. “Theprobehasrevealed that Kulkarni was involved in the process of examination on behalfofNTA.hehadaccessto »CoNTINued oN PaGe 2 anand mohan J A BeNCh of the madhya pradesh high Court Friday concluded that the religious character of the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal maula mosque complex was that of Bhojshala,describedasatemple of goddess Vagdevi Saraswati. The Bench of justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi,intheir242-pagejudgement, sukalp sharma New Delhi, May 15 at the Bhojshala temple-kamal maula mosque complex in dhar, mP, Friday. ANI concludedthatthe“historicalliteratureplaced(beforethecourt) establishedthatthecharacterof thedisputedareawasBhojshala as a Centre of Sanskrit learning associatedwithrajaBhojofparmar dynasty”, which indicates the “existence of temple dedicatedtothegoddessSaraswatiat Dhar.”“We have noted the continuity of hindu worship at the »CoNTINued oN PaGe 2 Unnao rape: SC sets aside HC order suspending Sengar’s life sentence puBLICSeCTOroilmarketing companies (OmCs) hiked petrol and diesel prices by rs 3 per litre on Friday, the first price increase in over four years, as they continue to grapple with financial strain amid the West Asia crisis. petrol is now priced at rs 97.77 per litre, and diesel at rs 90.67 in Delhi. Fuel prices vary across states due to differencesinstate-leveltaxes.Along with petrol and diesel prices, CNG prices were also hiked by rs 2 per kg in cities like Delhi and mumbai. Global crude oil prices have surged by over 50% due to the West Asia war and the consequent closure of the Strait of hormuz, but in a bid to insulate ThE BiG PicTurE express News service New Delhi, May 15 trUmP leAves beIjIng WIth feW WIns bUt WArm Words for XI P V kulkarni was held in Pune the question papers, and he organised special coaching sessions at his pune residence during the last week of April 2026, in which students were allegedly mobilised and taught the leaked material,” a CBI spokesperson said. Kulkarni was a chemistry lecturer at the Dayanand Junior College in Latur. College principal prof Sidheshwar Bellale,speakingtoTheIndianExpressoverphone,saidKulkarni retired in 2022-23. “Two years after his retirement, he shifted from Latur to puneandhasbeenbasedthere. Our college has had no relation with him after his retirement. No such incident occurred Disputed Bhojshala Petrol, diesel prices hiked by site a temple, rules Rs 3 per litre, covers only part Madhya Pradesh HC of losses incurred by oil PSUs ASI to maintain control; state may consider allotting land in Dhar for mosque: Bench laN INdIa-bouNd vessel tee was headed by former ISrO chief K radhakrishnan. “Compared to Omr, the CBT (computer-based test) is a little more protected… But cybercrime has become big… even there, there are challenges, but we will have to trust the system. This can be improved,” he said. “Despite following the recommendations of the radhakrishnan committee, there was a breach somewhere in the command chain. We accept this. We take the responsibility to fix this,” he said, adding that “most recommendations” of the committee were followed, including those for conducting the examination like an electionwiththesupportofDistrict Collectors and police. In its recommendations, The Supreme Court Friday set aside the Delhi high Court order suspending the life sentence of former mLA Kuldeep SinghSengarintheunnaorape case, remarking that it does not endorsethehC’s“hypertechnical view” that a legislator is not a public servant for the purposes of the protection of Children from Sexual Offences (pocso) Act. “This is a legislation which is not only penal but also one which protects children from sexual exploitation and other All that glitter: Why Indians will keep buying gold PAge 15 Former BJP mLa kuldeep singh sengar was convicted of rape. formsofabuse,”JusticeJoymalya Bagchi said. Justice Bagchi was part of a two-judge bench, including »CoNTINued oN PaGe 2 INdIa sTaNds wITh uae: modI inside PAge 3 eIghtof14held AfterIftAron gAngAInvArAnAsI grAntedbAIl at a fuel pump in new delhi on Friday. VIVEK PRAKASH KRISHNA domestic consumers, the government-owned OmCs hadn’t passedonthehigherratesforretail petrol and diesel. In fact, prices of the two auto fuels hadn’t been hiked for over four years, although cut once — be- fore the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. According to industry sourcesandanalysts,thequantum of this hike will only partially ease the pressure, as the gap between the retail fuel »CoNTINued oN PaGe 2 Some jobless youth in law like cockroaches, become media, activists and attack system: CJI express News service New Delhi, May 15 A VISIBLy upset Chief Justice of India Surya Kant Friday likenedsomeunemployedyouth inlawto“cockroaches”andsaid “some become media… social media… rTI activists” and “start attacking” the “system”. Annoyed with a lawyer who had filed a petition seeking directionstotheDelhihighCourt in the matter of designation of aSeniorAdvocatewhichhetoo wishedtobecome,theCJI,who cJI surya kant was on a bench with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, said judges were aware of social media posts “against the system”. »CoNTINued oN PaGe 2 Prime minister narendra modi with Uae President sheikh mohamed bin Zayed al nahyan in abu dhabi, Friday. PTI Abu Dhabi to store 30 million barrels in India’s strategic petroleum reserves, invest $5 billion in infrastructure shubhajit roy New Delhi, May 15 DeepeNINGBILATerALrelations amid the crisis in West Asia, India and the uAe signed aslewofpactsFridayincluding a framework for a strategic defencepartnership,storageof30 million barrels in Indian strategic petroleum reserves, supply of LpG and a ship repair cluster in Gujarat’s Vadinar. The uAe also pledged investments totalling uSD 5 billion in Indian infrastructure and rBL Bank and Samman Capital. The upswing in ties marked prime minister Narendra modi’s brief stopover in Abu Dhabi on his tour of four european nations, days after the uAe came under Iranian missile and drone attacks. underliningthattheStraitof hormuz should be “free, open and safe”, modi told president Sheikh mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that India stands “shouldertoshoulder”withthe uAe. Criticising the attacks on theemirates,hesaidthetargeting was “unacceptable”. modi expressed India’s support for efforts to restore peace »CoNTINued oN PaGe 2 Araghchi: Chabahar a golden gateway, hope India still develops it ‘Iran has every reason not to trust US; India friends with all in Persian Gulf’ shubhajit roy New Delhi, May 15 uNDerLINING ThAT India can play a “constructiverole” in the region, visiting Iranian Foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi Friday described his country’s Chabahar port as a “goldengateway”anda“symbol of cooperation”, expressing the hope that India will continue to develop the strategic port. Araghchi, who has been leading negotiations with the uS and representing the Iranian regime in world capitals, made these remarks at the Iranian embassy in New Delhi afterattendingameetingofthe BrICS Foreign ministers. That »CoNTINued oN PaGe 2 Iran’s Foreign minister seyed abbas araghchi in new delhi, Friday. PTI politics PAge 7 consensUs evAdes brIcs As IrAn, UAe sPAr over WAr l sPree oF ordInances aFTer deLayIng ParLIamenT sessIon draws crITIcIsm Just weeks after taking charge, Nepal’s Gen Z hope, PM Balen Shah, is losing his shine Yubaraj Ghimire In the latest setback to the Shah government, the Nepal Supreme Court stayed its deciLeSS ThAN two months after sion to dissolve trade unions he swept to power, in what was and student organisations in heralded as a Generation Z universities, one of the movement against established measures pushed through an ordinance. earlier, politicians in Nepal, page 1 the court restrained the promise and the Shah governhope held out by the ment from evicting Balendra Shah government is losing its sheen. landlesssquattersandinformal Shah’s determined silence in settlers without due process the face of criticism, even as his and rehabilitation. This week, the pm, a rappergovernmenttakesrecoursetoa spreeofordinances,afterdelay- turned-politician,foundhimself ing a parliament Session, have inanothercontroversywhenhe turned up for the parliament drawn much flak. Kathmandu, May 15 anchor Session that began on may 11 — the first since his government cametopower—wearingwhite canvas shoes, seen as too informal. he proceeded to exit abruptly in the middle of the speech by the president on his government’sprogrammesand policies, and on Wednesday, skippedparliamentwithoutnotice, leading to Opposition protests and adjournment. Of all the moves, the ordinances issued by the Shah government have attracted the mostcriticismfromsupporters, who see these as betraying the reformagendaonwhichhewas Balendra shah, 32, took charge as nepal Pm on march 27. AP FILE voted to power. While Shah’s rastriya Swatantra party (rSp) enjoys absolute majority in the 275member pratinidhi Sabha or theLowerhouseofNepal,having secured 181 seats in the march elections, it does not have a single member in the National Assembly or upper house,whichplaysakeyrolein the passage of legislation, including amendments. Last month, just before the SessionoftheLowerhousewas to start on April 30, the government sought its postponement to may 11. The 12-day period was used by it to push through eight ordinances. The most controversial was the one involving the Constitutional Council, the body responsible for recommending namesforSupremeCourtChief Justice and judges, members and chiefs of 13 constitutional bodies, and ambassadors, to parliament committees for their approval. The ordinance sought to alter the council’s power and scope by giving the veto power to the pm, the ex-officio chairman of the council. In the case of a tie over a choice, the ordi- nance said, the pm’s view would prevail; even if he was in the minority on a name, he could overrule the majority. Two members of the council—NarayanDahal,Chairman of the upper house, and Bhismaraj Angdambe — wrote dissenting notes, demanding that thepastpracticeofnominating the seniormost judge as the Chief Justice be honoured. president ram Chandra poudel tried to stall the ordinance, sending it back to the Shah government for reconsideration. however, after the »CoNTINued oN PaGe 2 Lucknow