Diesel hits Rs 100/litre mark in Kerala, Karnataka
New Delhi(PTI): Diesel price on Monday breached the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Kerala and Karnataka as fuel prices were hiked yet again to align domestic rates with firming international oil prices.
Petrol price was hiked by 30 paise per litre and diesel by 35 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
The seventh straight day of price hike pushed fuel rates to a new record high. The price of petrol in Delhi rose to its highest-ever level of Rs 104.44 a litre and Rs 110.41 per litre in Mumbai, the notification showed.
In Mumbai, diesel now comes for Rs 101.03 a litre; while in Delhi, it costs Rs 93.17.
While petrol price in most of the country is already above Rs 100-a-litre mark, diesel rates have crossed that level in several states, with Kerala and Karnataka being the latest ones.
Diesel costs Rs 100.15 a litre in Thiruvananthapuram.
Some cities in Karnataka including Shimoga and Davanagere also saw those levels on Monday. In Bengaluru however, diesel comes for Rs 98.85 per litre.
Besides Kerala and Karnataka, diesel has crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Leh.
Prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes.
Shedding the modest price change policy, state-owned fuel retailers have since October 6 started passing on the larger incidence of cost to consumers.
For six days in a row, the price of petrol has been hiked by 30 paise a litre and diesel by 35 paise, the biggest rally in rates. Prior to that, petrol price was increased by 25 paise and diesel by 30 paise.
This is because the international benchmark Brent crude has soared to a seven-year high of over USD 80 per barrel after producers cartel OPEC+ choose not to increase output more than 0.4 million barrels per day.
A month ago, Brent was around USD 72 per barrel.
Being a net importer of oil, India prices petrol and diesel at rates equivalent to international prices. The surge in international oil prices ended a three-week hiatus in rates on September 28 for petrol and September 24 for diesel.
Since then, diesel rates have gone up by Rs 4.35 per litre and petrol price has increased by Rs 3.25.
Prior to the July/August price cuts, the petrol price was increased by Rs 11.44 a litre between May 4 and July 17. Diesel rate had gone up by Rs 9.14 during this period.
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Kashmiri journalist Asif Sultan granted bail in five-year-old UAPA case
Srinagar: Kashmiri journalist Asif Sultan has been granted bail by a special court in Srinagar in connection with a five-year-old case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Sultan's arrest was related to an incident of rioting at Srinagar’s Central Jail in 2019, where a group of inmates allegedly set fire to several barracks and threw stones at prison staff.
He was arrested on February 29, just two days after being released from detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows authorities to detain individuals without trial for up to two years on grounds of national security or up to a year to maintain public order.
The special court's decision on May 10 observed that ample time had been given to interrogate Sultan during his 72-day custody. It further held that his continued detention would not serve any purpose, given his judicial conduct and status as a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir.
Judge Sandeep Gandotra, presiding over the case, pointed out the remote likelihood of Sultan fleeing the Union territory and granted him bail. Sultan was directed to furnish a bail bond worth Rs 1 lakh and instructed to cooperate with the investigating officer, providing necessary contact details.
Despite the Jammu and Kashmir High Court's order to release him citing procedural lapses, he remained in custody pending clearance letters from the home department and district magistrate.
