India’s COVID-19 tally increased to 4,31,34,145 on Saturday with 2,323 fresh infections, while the number of active cases came down to 14,996, according to Union health ministry data.

The death toll climbed to 5,24,348 with 25 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.

A decrease of 48 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.47 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.51 per cent, the ministry said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,25,94,801. The case fatality rate stood at 1.22 per cent, it said.

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide inoculation drive have exceeded 192.12 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the 1-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4 and 3 crore on June 23.

The 25 new fatalities include 23 from Kerala and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Mizoram.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that the state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan walked out of the Sitapur Jail in Uttar Pradesh on Friday morning, a day after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in a cheating case.

Khan’s son and MLA Abdullah Azam, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) leader Shivpal Singh Yadav and a large number of supporters welcomed the senior SP leader upon his release after 27 months.

Azam Khan had 88 cases, including that of land grabbing, registered against him. On Thursday, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in a cheating case, paving the way for his release.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav welcomed Khan’s release.

“Hearty welcome to senior SP leader and MLA Azam Khan on his release on bail. With this bail decision, the Supreme Court has set new standards of justice. He will certainly be acquitted in all other false cases. Lies have moments, not centuries,” Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.

Shivpal Singh Yadav posted on Twitter pictures with Khan outside the jail. The jailor of Sitapur prison, R S Yadav, said the release order was received around 11 pm on Thursday and after following all procedures, Khan was released around 8 am on Friday.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao directed Khan to file for regular bail within two weeks and asked the trial court to decide it on merits without being influenced by any of the observations of the top court.

The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier opposed Khan’s bail plea and termed him a “land grabber” and a “habitual offender”.

The apex court on May 17 had reserved its order after hearing the parties. It had earlier expressed displeasure over the delay in hearing the bail application of Khan, saying this is a travesty of justice.

After his release from jail, Khan visited the house of the Samajwadi Party’s ex-MLA Anoop Gupta before leaving for his native Rampur. Gupta had been in constant touch with Khan ever since he was lodged in Sitapur Jail.

During his 45-minute stay at Gupta’s house, Khan had breakfast and met his supporters and well-wishers who had come here from different places.

When Abdullah Azam was released from Sitapur jail he had also visited Gupta’s home.

Khan, who is considered the Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party, had hit the headlines of late with leaders of different political parties visiting him in jail.

Shivpal Singh Yadav, who had met Khan in the jail last month, had used the opportunity to take potshots at his nephew Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party for not taking up the jailed leader’s cause.

The PSP-L leader had said that he would soon put the matter before Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Azam Khan’s camp too had expressed unhappiness with the Samajwadi Party chief, claiming that he has been ignoring the jailed MLA and the Muslim community though it voted for the party.

Azam Khan’s media in-charge Fasahat Ali Khan had accused Akhilesh Yadav of ignoring his colleague and the Muslim community, sparking speculations about a rift in the Samajwadi Party.

Fasahat Ali Khan had alleged that Akhilesh Yadav met Azam Khan only once in the jail and the party made no attempt for his release in the past two-and-a-half years.

Speculation that Azam Khan was not happy with the Samajwadi Party leadership got further momentum when party MLA and former Uttar Pradesh minister Ravidas Mehrotra, who had also gone to meet him in jail, was not allowed the meeting.

But a day later, Azam Khan met Congress leader and spiritual guru Pramod Krishnam who visited him at the district prison

Amid a widening rift, Shivpal Singh Yadav did not rule out forming a front with Azam Khan. When asked by a reporter about the chances of him and Khan forming a new front, Shivpal Singh at a programme in Farrukhabad had remarked that “a decision on this will be taken at the right time, after he comes out of jail.

A Delhi court on Thursday convicted Kashmiri separatist leader and Yasin Malik in a terror funding case. The quantum of the sentence will be announced on May 25.

Malik had earlier pleaded guilty to all charges, including those under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), in a terror funding case.

Malik had told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him. Special Judge Praveen Singh directed the NIA authorities to assess Malik’s financial situation to determine the amount of fine to be imposed.

The court had earlier also formally framed the charges against Kashmiri separatist leaders including Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam, Md Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan, Md Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Naval Kishore Kapoor.

The charge sheet was also filed against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin.

Malik is the chief commander of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and was one  of the first militants who started militant campaign in Kashmir in 1989.

Cooking gas LPG price was on Thursday hiked by Rs 3.50 per cylinder, the second increase in rate this month following the firming of international energy rates.

Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,003 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 999.50 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

This is the second increase in LPG rate this month and the third in less than two months. The price was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder on March 22 and again by the same quantum on May 7.

Since April 2021, prices have risen by Rs 193.5 per cylinder.

Petrol and diesel prices however continue to be on freeze for the 43rd day in a row. The pause followed rates being hiked by a record Rs 10 per litre in a matter of 16 days beginning March 22.

Non-subsidised cooking gas is the one that consumers buy after exhausting their quota of 12 cylinders at subsidised or below-market rates.

However, the government pays no subsidy on LPG in most cities and the price of the refill that consumers, including the poor women who got free connection under the much-talked Ujjwala scheme, is the same as that for non-subsidised or market price LPG.

Non-subsidised LPG costs Rs 1,002.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Mumbai while it is priced at Rs 1,018.50 a bottle in Chennai and Rs 1,029 in Kolkata.

Rates differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT. Prices are higher in states with higher taxes.

Alongside, oil firms also hiked the price of commercial LPG cylinders – the ones used by establishments like hotels and restaurants – by Rs 8 per cylinder to Rs 2,354 per 19-kg bottle. On May 1, the price of a commercial LPG cylinder was increased by Rs 102.50 to Rs 2,355.50 but on May 7 it was reduced to Rs 2,346.

International oil prices have been on the rise this year. They jumped to a 13-year high of USD 140 per barrel in March before shedding some of the gains. Brent was trading at USD 110.13 per barrel on Thursday.

To compound things, the Indian rupee tumbled to Rs 77.74 to a dollar, making imports costlier.

India relies on overseas purchases to meet about 85 per cent of its oil requirement, making it one of the most vulnerable in Asia to higher oil prices.

While India has surplus oil refining capacity, it does not manufacture enough LPG to meet domestic demand and imports significant quantities from nations such as Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, an oil ministry official stated that the Saudi LPG prices have gone up by 33 % while domestic rates have increased by only 11 %.

The Supreme Court Thursday granted interim bail to jailed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in a cheating case, saying it is a fit case to invoke its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to grant relief.

A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao also directed Khan to file for regular bail within two weeks and asked the trial court to decide it on merits without being influenced by any of the observations of the top court.

The apex court said the interim bail will operate till the competent court decides on the application for regular bail.

“This is a fit case to exercise the powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and grant interim bail to the petitioner,” the bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai and A S Bopanna, said.

Khan is presently lodged in Sitapur jail in connection with several cases, including that of land grabbing, against him in Rampur.

Article 142 of the Constitution deals with the Supreme Court’s power to exercise its jurisdiction and pass the order for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.

The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier opposed Khan’s bail plea and termed him as a “land grabber” and a “habitual offender”.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, had told the apex court that he had allegedly threatened the investigating officer in the land grabbing case.

The apex court on May 17 had reserved its order after hearing the parties.

The top court had earlier expressed displeasure over the delay in hearing the bail application of Khan, saying this is a travesty of justice.

The Allahabad High Court on May 5 had reserved its order on the bail application of Khan in the case of grabbing enemy property for his Mohammad Ali Jauhar University project.

An FIR was lodged against Khan and others for alleged grabbing of enemy property and misappropriation of public money of more than hundreds of crores of rupees.

It was alleged in the FIR that during Partition one Imamuddin Qureshi went to Pakistan and his land was recorded as enemy property, but Khan in collusion with others grabbed the plot.

The FIR was lodged at the Azem Nagar police station in Rampur under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

Earlier, the apex court in February had refused interim bail to Khan for campaigning in the Uttar Pradesh elections and asked him to approach the court concerned for expeditious disposal.

The plea filed by Khan had contended that the State has adopted all means available to purposefully delay the proceedings to ensure that he is incarcerated during the recently held Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Hitting out at the Centre over hike in domestic gas and fuel prices, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the BJP-led government of “looting” the common people.

She also accused the Narendra Modi government of engineering communal disturbances to divert people’s attention from issues affecting them such as price rise.

“The Centre is looting the common people by hiking prices of domestic gas, petrol and diesel. To divert attention of the common people, the Narendra Modi government is engineering communal disturbances,” Banerjee claimed while speaking at a party programme at Medinipur College ground here.

Banerjee is on a tour of the western distric.

Gujarat Patidar quota agitation spearhead Hardik Patel on Wednesday said he has resigned as the Gujarat Congress working president as well as from the party’s primary membership.
Patel submitted his resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“Today, after mustering courage, I am resigning from the party post and primary membership of the Congress. I hope my followers and people of Gujarat will welcome my step. I believe that I will be able to serve the state better after this step,” he tweeted.