SC PULLS UP NTA OVER NEET LEAK, SAYS IT HAS NOT LEARNT LESSONS TUESDAY 26 The court on Monday sought the response of the Centre, NTA and CBI on pleas to replace the National Testing Agency with an autonomous one MAY, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in NTA ASKED TO DETAIL STEPS TAKEN SINCE ’24 PAPER LEAK facebook.com/TheMorningStandard “It’s sad they (NTA) have not learnt their lessons. The matter travelled to this court earlier also. There was a commitee which made some recommendations and they were accepted. We want the NTA to file an affidavit on the steps taken,” the SC told the testing agency. | P7 X.com/TheMornStandard B E L A R U S WAT C H MAJOR RUSSIAN STRIKE ON KYIV Belarus exiled opposition leader visited Kyiv on Monday as the Ukrainian capital cleaned up after Russia’s biggest missile attack of the year. PAGE 9 CBI PROBE SC asks media not to record statements in Twisha case S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y PLEAS SEEK NEW BODY TO CONDUCT EXAM A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00 PAGES 12  Trump now ties deal with Iran to Abraham Accords Asks Arab countries, and Pakistan, to sign the Accords as part of peace pact @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday directed the Madhya Pradesh government to ensure that the alleged dowry death case of former Miss Pune winner, Twisha Sharma, is handed over to the CBI. Hours later, the CBI formally took over the probe. The court also urged the media not to record the statements of witnesses or any potential accused, saying it could prejudice the probe. During the hearing, a three-judge bench led by CJI Surya Kant said that the court was pained by the narrative that the judiciary was shielding the accused. The remark came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted the CBI would take over the probe. Mehta s a i d , “ Fo r parents, it is better to have a d ivo r c e d daughter than to have a dead one.” The court asked the victim’s family and potential witnesses to record statements before the probe agency not through media bytes. , The bench took suo motu cognisance of the case after media reports raised questions of institutional bias in the probe, including allegations that a fair investigation was being denied because the accused’s husband is a lawyer and his mother is a former district judge. Clarifying that public speculation must stop and faith must be placed in the CBI, the court said that it had expressed no opinion on the merits of the case. Later in the day the Mad, hya Pradesh High Court adjourned to May 27 the hearing on pleas challenging the anticipatory bail granted to ex-judge Giribala Singh, booked for alleged dowry harassment of her daughterin-law Twisha. US President Donald Trump has tied the future of any Iran agreement to a dramatic expansion of the Abraham Accords, signalling a broader geopolitical push to reshape alliances across West Asia. The move came alongside Trump sharply recalibrating expectations around ongoing negotiations with Tehran, warning that any agreement with Iran would either be “meaningful” or there would be “no deal at all.” “The deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal,” Trump wrote. Earlier in Tehran, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei acknowledged progress in negotiations but cautioned against expectations of an imminent breakthrough. In a Truth Social post on Monday Trump , said he was “mandatorily requesting that all countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords” — a diplomatic framework introduced during his first term to normalise ties between Israel and Arab states. The countries he referenced included Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE and Bahrain, both already signatories to the accords. The statement marked a shift in tone after Trump had earlier suggested that an agreement to end the nearly three-month conflict with Iran was “largely negotiated.” Besides, the inclusion of Pakistan in Trump’s list adds another layer of complexity. Islamabad has historically refused to recognise Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Earlier in Tehran, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei acknowledged progress in negotiations but denied any breakthrough yet. Trump’s latest remarks suggest the White House is trying to leverage the Iran negotiations into a wider regional realignment centred around Israel and Abraham Accords. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is on a visit to India, on Monday sought to temper speculation surrounding a breakthrough. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, he said some good news on a potential peace agreement was expected on Sunday night but it has not come. He added that the US would either secure a “strong agreement” with Iran or confront the country “another way while insisting ,” diplomacy would still be given “every chance to succeed.” During his India visit, Rubio also toured the Amber Fort and the Taj Mahal, cultural hotspot stops before attending the Quad foreign ministers meet in Delhi on Tuesday . OMCs increase petrol, diesel prices yet again E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi We thought we might have some news (peace agreement) last night, maybe today... I wouldn’t read too much into it Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State Iranian team in Qatar for talks Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, and central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati reached Qatar on Monday to discuss “the most sensitive unresolved issues” in reaching a potential deal with the US to end the three-month-old war. Reports said the delegation held talks with Qatar’s prime minister ‘Negotiations going on nicely’ Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump on Monday said negotiations with Iran are “proceeding nicely”, adding that there will either be a “great deal for all” or no deal at all. He also threatended to resume strikes on Iran if no agreement is reached 100+ LANE A litre of petrol now costs more than `100 across India Cumulative hike PETROL DIESEL `7.35 `7.53 per litre per litre 4 Hikes in 11 days Delhi Petrol: `102.12 per litre Diesel: `95.20 per litre R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi GOVERNMENT-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Monday increased petrol and diesel prices for the fourth time in 11 days by `2.61 and `2.71 per litre, respectively, taking the cumulative increase to `7.35 per litre for petrol and `7.53 for diesel. With the latest hike, petrol prices have crossed the `100-per-litre mark across the country with Delhi recording `102.12. The prices vary in states due to local taxation. In Telangana, a litre of petrol will now cost `118.30 while the figure is `114.90 in Kerala. Petrol in Mumbai was priced at `111.21 and diesel `97.83, while Kolkata prices rose to `113.51 and `99.82, respectively . Diesel prices also crossed the `100 mark in Telangana (`106.7) and Kerala (`104.1). Monday’s increase came even as global oil prices fell sharply amid hopes of a potential peace agreement that would end the threemonth-old US-Israel war on Iran. Brent crude futres fell nearly 6% on Monday to $97.42 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate futures to $90.88. Both contracts traded at their lowest since May 7. According to the government, OMCs still lose around `600 crore per day even after the increase in fuel prices. Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said OMCs’ losses stood at `1,000 crore per day before the cycle of price hikes as the West Asia conflict impacted the supply of crude oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a massive spike in international fuel prices. P3 PARKING PROJECTS PUT ON HOLD AS MCD HOUSE ADJOURNED AMID DIN The proposed three multilevel parking projects in New Friends Colony, Jangpura and Kalkaji were put on hold on Monday after the MCD House session was adjourned amid opposition stir, leading to postponement of discussions on several key issues. | P4 The court issued the notices while hearing a batch of pleas, including one by the Federation of All India Medical Association ■ The medical body has urged the court to issue a direction to restructure or replace NTA with a robust and autonomous system ■ The concerned parties have three days to submit their responses ■ PRESIDENT CONFERS THE PADMAS President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Vibhushan on actor Dharmendra posthumously, received by BJP MP Hema Malini on his behalf, at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday; and Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur receiving her Padma Shri | PTI 320 stranded mid-air for hrs in Gulmarg cable car F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar AROUND 320 tourists were stranded mid-air for several hours after a technical glitch halted the gondola cable car system at the ski resort of Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday afternoon. The panic-stricken tourists were rescued after an eighthour-long operation involving personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the Army, and the local police. Their work was hampered by heavy rains in the area. Rescue personnel reached people trapped inside 63 cabins of the gondola with the help of ladders. They were brought to the ground safely using ropes. Many cabins were hanging at a height of about 500 ft. Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Bhagat said the operation was completed in the evening and all the tourists were rescued. There were no reports of any injury Officials . said that an investigation will be launched to determine what caused the technical snag. The Gulmarg Gondola, one of the world’s highest cable car projects, operates in two phases. Phase 1 at Kongdori stands at 10,006 ft, and Phase 2 at Af- Rescue operation underway; (inset) a tourist being rescued | PTI Trapped 500 ft above Officials said since many cabins were hanging 500 ft above ground, rescue work took considerable amount of time CBSE in evaluation mess after paper mix-up claims I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi THE controversy surrounding the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) post-result evaluation process escalated further after multiple Class XII students alleged that scanned answer sheets uploaded by the board did not belong to them. What began as complaints about portal crashes, payment glitches and blurred scanned copies snowballed into a full-blown credibility crisis around CBSE’s OnScreen Marking (OSM) system on Monday . At the centre of the storm is Class XII student Vedant Shrivastava, whose allegations went viral on social media after he claimed the Physics answer sheet uploaded under his roll number was “completely different” from the one he had written during the examination. In a series of posts on X, Vedant said the handwriting, answer presentation and writing style in the Physics paper bore no resemblance to his own. According to him, his family and teachers immediately identified the mismatch after comparing the uploaded copy with his English and Computer Science answer sheets. “The Physics answer sheet sent by CBSE is not my answer sheet at all. The handwriting, spacing, slant, and sentence flow are entirely different,” he wrote, alleging that he had effectively been awarded marks for “someone else’s answers.” The student claimed that the discrepancy had affected his PCM aggregate, preventing him from meeting the 75% eligibility benchmark required for several professional courses and admissions. Several other students reported similar discrepancies. One student alleged that the scanned copy of their Chemistry answer sheet did not match their handwriting or responses and shared comparisons with other subject papers online. P5 HOLISTIC HEALING Pranayama in the waiting hall of hosps: Haryana’s new prescription H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh NEXT time you walk into a government hospital in Haryana— whether as a patient, an anxious attendant, or someone waiting outside an OPD—don’t be surprised if, along with treatment and counseling, you are asked to sit down for a free yoga session. In a first-of-its-kind move aimed at blending traditional wellness practices with main- stream healthcare, the Haryana Government is launching ‘Sanjeevani Yog (SanYog)’, a programme that will station yoga instructors and AYUSH doctors across government hospitals in the state. Announcing the initiative, Haryana Health Minister Aarti Singh Rao said the programme is being introduced to make healthcare services holistic and a “milestone” in Haryana’s public health journey. Under the scheme, yoga sessions, pranayama exercises, and lifestyle guidance will now become part of the routine experience at district hospitals, Community Health Centres, and Pri- mary Health Centres. Patients waiting in OPD lines can participate in guided breathing exercises and basic yoga sessions conducted by trained assistants and AYUSH doctors. Their attendants, too, SanYog aims to make health services holistic ‘Vridh Sewa Evam Swasthya’ portal In a first-of-its-kind move, the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP administration is launching ‘Sanjeevani Yog (SanYog)’, a programme that will station yoga instructors and AYUSH doctors across government hospitals in Haryana. The state government has developed a digital platform, ‘Vridh Sewa Evam Swasthya’ portal, to monitor the services. Yoga sessions, pranayama exercises and lifestyle guidance will now become part of the routine experience at district hospitals. will be encouraged to join in. Patients admitted to IPD wards will also receive specialised yoga therapy and counselling on healthy lifestyle practices, depending on the advice of doctors. The government is simultaneously expanding its focus on preventive healthcare for senior citizens as well through special health camps organised at all Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AYUSH) on Thursdays. farwat is 12,959 ft above sea level. The base station at Gulmarg is located at an altitude of 8,694 ft. Operations for both phases were immediately suspended. Home Minister Amit Shah praised the rescue forces. “The nation salutes the forces for their valour and skill,” Shah said in a post on X. SC chides govt over selection panel for DERC appointments U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday sought details from the Delhi government about the notification of the selection committee for making regular appointments of chairperson and members of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi passed the order after being informed that the proposal regarding the constitution of a selection panel was moved on May 4. The bench directed the counsel appearing for the government to seek instructions from the competent authority and inform the court. The SC had earlier sought a response from the government on a plea seeking a direction to make regular appointments of DERC chairperson and members. The bench was hearing a plea filed by an NGO, which said pointed out that the government had in August last year assured the SC that the process of regular appointments in the DERC would be completed expeditiously . The petitioner claimed that the present DERC composition was wholly contrary to the law as it consisted of two pro tem members and lacked a chairperson as well as a person of law as a member. The court directed the authorities concerned to file their response by May 29. EXPRESS READ Delhi records warmest May night in 14 years The capital sweltered under intense heat on Monday as the maximum temperature crossed 43°C while Delhi recorded its warmest May night in nearly 14 years, according to IMD. On May 26, 2012, the temperature stood at 32.5°C in the city.