CIC u-turn: BCCI not a public authority under RTI Act 2018 NAGAPATTINAM l tuesday l may 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION CIC says BCCI public authority. Following it, BCCI Appealed Central Information Commission says body not liable to answer queries under transparency law as it isn’t public authority under RTI Act. No government control: Commission CIC said BCCI is independent. “There exists no control of the government over the functions, finance, administration, management and affairs of BCCI.” While BCCI does select national teams and organise tournaments, the Commission held that cannot be grounds for giving it public authority character 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 Team Satheesan takes charge Announces free travel for women in state-run buses, dedicated govt dept for senior citizens EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ T’Puram AMID thunderous cheers from a teeming crowd and in the presence of a galaxy of VIPs, V D Satheesan was sworn in as Kerala’s 13th chief minister along with 20 cabinet colleagues at a glittering ceremony at Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on Monday . True to his word, Satheesan wasted no time in rolling out two major poll promises: free travel for women on KSRTC buses from June 15 and the launch of India’s first dedicated government department for senior citizens. In a relief for striking ASHA workers, he also announced a `3,000 hike in Kerala CM V D Satheesan flanked by Cong leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka, and ministers Sunny Joseph and Ramesh Chennithala | B P DEEPU their honorarium. Satheesan, who had sharply criticised the previous LDF government over its “poor handling” of the economy, also announced the deci- sion to release a white paper on the state’s financial health. Addressing a packed press conference after his cabinet’s first meeting, a composed Satheesan said he was fully aware of the enormity of the task ahead but would break from rigid precedents. In a major political and administrative move, Satheesan announced the formation of an SIT to probe the alleged police excesses against Congress workers during the Nava Kerala Sadas in 2023. Earlier, Governor Rajendra Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Satheesan and his cabinet colleagues. In accordance with a Union home ministry directive, the programme began and ended with the recital of the full version of the national song ‘Vande Mataram’ followed by the national anthem. Bounty Will continue to buy Russian oil: Govt on husband of dead Actor With a Bhopal court rejecting the anticipatory bail plea of lawyer Samarth Singh following the suspicious death of his wife and actor Twisha Sharma, the police announced a `10,000 bounty for any information leading to his arrest. Samarth is the son of retired judge Giribala Singh, who managed to get advance bail | P8 R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi AMID uncertainty over the status of the US sanctions waiver on Russian crude imports, India on Monday said it will continue to buy Russian oil. “Enough crude has been tied up... waiver or no waiver, it will not affect,” Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the petroleum ministry told , reporters. The clarification came after the temporary US sanctions waiver expired on May 16. She said India had been sourcing crude from Russia even before the sanctions and would con- tinue to do so depending on commercial viability. “These are commercial decisions taken by oil marketing companies based on national requirements and economic considerations.” The US first announced the waiver for a month in March and later extended it till May 16 amid concerns over global oil supply disruptions due to the Iran-US/ Israel war. India, which imports 88% of its crude oil requirement from over 40 countries, has sharply raised purchases of discounted Russian crude since the out- break of the Russia-Ukraine War in February 2022. Despite criticism from the US, India has maintained that crude purchases are based on affordability and national energy security needs. Notably the joint secretary’s , comments came on a day when reports said Pakistan has deployed over 8,000 troops, a squadron of JF-17 fighter jets, and an air defence system to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defence pact signed last year. Riyadh has been facing the brunt of the Iran-US war with Tehran targeting the kingdom’s infrastructure assets as retaliation to attacks by the US. SC raps its verdict on Umar Khalid suchi t ra ka lyan m o han t y @ New Delhi STRESSING that “bail is the rule and jail is the exception” is not merely an empty statutory slogan, the Supreme Court on Monday questioned its January 5 judgment denying bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, while granting bail to J&K resident Syed Iftikhar Andrabi in a narco-terror case probed by the NIA, said that it has “serious reservations” on the reasoning adopted by a different bench of the Supreme Court in the Delhi riots case. The court said that the right to speedy trial cannot be curtailed only because charges have been invoked under the stringent UAPA. In the Gulfisha Fatima case, which dealt with bail pleas linked to Delhi riots, while several accused got relief, a two-judge bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria on January 5, 2026 refused bail to Khalid and Imam and said they can file fresh bail applications after one year. A review petition was also dismissed on April 16, 2026. The 102-page verdict authored by Justice Bhuyan compared the case of Andrabi with the earlier K A Najeeb judgment — which holds an accused cannot be jailed indefinitely — that bars indefinite incarceration as a narrow exception to Section 43D(5), applicable only in extreme facts. Diluting the scope of Najeeb judgment was what troubled the bench on Monday “We have no doubt that under UAPA too, bail is . the rule and jail the exception,” the court noted. NEET: Owner of coaching centre held sudhir sur yawanshi @ Mumbai THE CBI arrested the founder of a coaching centre based in Maharashtra’s Latur over his alleged involvement in the NEET-UG paper leak, officials said on Monday . Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, who runs Renukai Chemistry Classes (RCC), was arrested on Sunday evening after CBI recovered a leaked question paper of the examination held on May 3 from his mobile phone during searches at his premises, officials said. Motegaonkar was allegedly an “active member of the organised gang” involved in the leakage and circulation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) question paper. Retired chemistry professor PV Kulkarni, who was earlier arrested by the CBI for leaking the NEET exam paper, is suspected of having provided the paper to Motegaonkar. Kulkarni was part of the NEET exam paper drafting committee. E x p r ess Re a d PTR announces ‘short break’ from public life Veteran AIADMK leader Semmalai quits party 13-year-old beaten to death by two friends Madurai: Former TN minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Monday announced that he would be taking a “short break” from public life following his defeat in the 2026 polls, while maintaining that his commitment to public service remained intact | P4 Salem: In a blow to AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, veteran AIADMK leader and ex-minister S Semmalai quit the party on Monday. Semmalai, considered a strong supporter of EPS, said that what has been happening in the party after the polls has caused him pain | P4 Coimbatore: A 13-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death by his two friends in Coimbatore, police said on Monday. Police added that an argument broke out while they were fishing, following which the two minors allegedly attacked the victim, killing him on the spot | P2