Saturday, February 21, 2026 | Vol. 69 No. 118 | 40 Pages THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation l E-paper edition is not a replica of the print edition AI IMPACT SUMMIT Modi meets CEOs of tech majors, backs homegrown AI for crops, climate care GAMES India, South Africa will be favourites to qualify for the semifinals from Super Eight’s Group 1 Cinema Global pop icon Shakira returns to India this April Edit India’s historic loss and the AI path back to civilisational scale 6-3 DECISION | In a blow to Trump, US Supreme Court rules the President does not have authority to unilaterally impose sweeping duties US top court strikes down Trump tariffs Agencies WASHINGTON Trump calls the verdict a “disgrace” and says he has a backup plan Zirwal relieves PS as probe team visits The Supreme Court on Friday ruled President Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs on nearly every country under a federal emergency powers law, delivering a blow to the president's signature economic policy, CBS reported. The court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not authorize the presi- dent to impose tariffs. The Supreme Court divided 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts delivering the opinion for the court. Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. "IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties. The Government points to no statute in which Congress used the word 'regulate' to authorize taxation. And until now no President has read IEEPA to confer such power," Roberts wrote. "We claim no special While the ruling restricts the President’s ability to use International Emergency Economic Powers Act to set his sweeping duties, it doesn’t prevent him from imposing tariffs under different trade authorities competence in matters of economics or foreign affairs. We claim only, as we must, the limited role assigned to us by Article III of the Constitution. Fulfilling that role, we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs." The court upheld a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that ruled Trump's tariffs were illegal. While the ruling restricts the president's ability to use IEEPA to set his sweeping duties, it does not prevent the president from imposing tariffs under different trade authorities. Trump has already relied on other laws to slap levies on copper, steel and aluminum imports, as well as other products. Trump claimed ahead of a decision that because of tariffs, "our Country is financially, AND FROM A NATIONAL SECURITY STANDPOINT, FAR STRONGER AND MORE RESPECTED THAN EVER BE- SC ORDERS JUDICIAL OFFICERS DEPLOYED FOR W BENGAL SIR Calcutta High Court asked to appoint serving judicial officers along with some retired judicial officers in the rank of Additional District Judge or District Judge, who in each district will aid in disposal or revisiting of the claims under the logical discrepancy list FPJ News Service NEW DELHI Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI Intensifying its probe into the bribery case involving an office clerk attached to the office of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Minister Narhari Zirwal, a team of the AntiCorruption Bureau (ACB) visited Mantralaya on Friday to examine CCTV footage. In another development, the FDA minister relieved his private secretary (PS), Dr Ramdas Gade, of his post. Dr Gade has been repatriated to the Animal Husbandry Department, his parent department. Before joining Zirwal’s office, he was serving as an assistant commissioner in the department. The action is attributed to the sting operation related to the bribery allegations. 4Contd on | nation In an extraordinary development, the Supreme Court on Monday ordered deployment of judicial officers, including the retired judges, for smooth conduct of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipin Pancholi said there was a clear lack of cooperation between the State government and the Election Commission. Live Law and Bar and Bench report that given the "trust deficit" between the West Bengal Government and the EC, the SC on Friday directed the appointment of judicial officers for the adjudication of claims and objections in the SIR of the electoral rolls in the state. The judicial officers are to perform the function of the Electoral Register Officers (ERO) in the process. The court took this step in view of the dispute as to whether sufficient Group B officers in the rank of SDM have been provided by the State to the EC to function as EROs. The state, on its part, objected to the EC relying on the micro-observers and special roll observers appointed by it. 4Contd on | nation FACE-OFF: CM Mamata Banerjee, CEC Gyanesh Kumar Delhi clarifies stance Intel failure: HC rebukes Navy on Israel, West Bank Bombay High Court pulls up Navy for failing Urvi Mahajani MUMBAI Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified India’s stance on the joint statement condemning Israel’s actions in the West Bank. Earlier, India had not signed the joint statement issued by over 85 countries condemning Is- rael’s action in the West Bank, but the next day it joined 100 countries and international organisations, and signed it as well. Asked the reason for India’s seeming U-turn, the MEA spokesperson had this to say at a special briefing on Friday: 4Contd on | nation The Bombay HC on Friday came down heavily on the Navy, observing that there appeared to be a “failure of intelligence” in allowing a high-rise to come up near INS Shikra, the naval establishment in Colaba. A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri said it was prima facie of the view to notice a high-rise near INS Shikra till as many as 19 floors had been built that the Navy had failed to notice the construction for years. “There has been a grave lapse on your (Navy) part. There has been a failure of intelligence,” the bench remarked. “The Navy noticed this building only after almost 70 metres (19 storeys) had already been constructed by 2024.” The court was hearing a petition filed by the Commanding Officer of INS Shikra. 4See also | city FORE." He also warned that an adverse ruling would force the U.S. to pay back significant sums of money to importers, which would be "a complete mess, and almost impossible for our country to pay." Reporters at the White House were waiting to enter a meeting between the president and the nation's governors on Friday morning, but were sent back to the press area moments after the decision came down. 4Contd on | nation US, Europe markets up Stock markets in the US and Europe jumped after the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, while the Nasdaq gained 1%. European auto shares surged, and USlisted stocks from markets ranging from South Korea to India also rallied. India announces entry in Pax Silica Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI India formally announced its entry into the Pax Silica coalition on Friday. Pax Silica is a US-led strategic initiative formed in December 2025 focused on building secure, resilient supply chains for semiconductors, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence technologies. Currently the group has nine signatories, which include Australia, the UK, Israel and the UAE among others, before India has signed on, and non-signatory participants include the European Union, the Netherlands, and Taiwan. China is not among the signatories. Speaking just after India had formally signed the declaration in New Delhi, US UnderSecretary Jacob Helberg stated. Pax Silica is our declaration that the future belongs to those who build and when free people join forces, we do not wait for the future to be given to us. We build it ourselves.” Helberg was there at the signing along with the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, while India was represented by S. Krishnan, Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology. Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Google It’s a very important historical event for us because our semiconductor industry has evolved very well in the last decade. Ashwini Vaishnav Union Minister CEO Sundar Pichai were also present on the occasion. Speaking after the signing, Vaishnaw said in an interview to ANI,“The semiconductor supply chain is very important for the entire world. There is a need for a resilient supply chain. 4Contd on | nation US in pursuit of unusual BJP rebel is elected CONG MAKES A SHIRTLESS N-deal with Saudi Arabia mayor of Bhiwandi SPECTACLE @ AI SUMMIT Agencies Agreement does not include non-proliferation safeguards Agencies WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump has informed Congress that he is pursuing a civil nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that does not include non-proliferation safeguards Washington has long maintained are necessary to ensure the kingdom does not develop nuclear weapons, according to a copy of the document sent to Congress and reviewed by Reuters. Trump, a Republican, and former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, have both worked with Saudi Arabia on pathways to build the kingdom’s first civil nuclear power plants. The move comes amid fears of a renewed nuclear arms race following the recent expiration of the last strategic arms limitation treaty between Russia and the US, as well as China’s expansion of its nuclear arsenal. For years, arms control advocates, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his time in the Senate, have insisted that any nuclear cooperation pact with Saudi Arabia include strict guardrails. These include prohibiting the kingdom from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, both potential pathways to nuclear weapons. They have also called for Saudi Arabia to adopt the Additional Protocol, which grants the International Atomic Energy Agency expanded authority to monitor nuclear activities, including conducting snap inspections at undeclared sites. 4Contd on | nation Danish Azmi BHIWANDI In a dramatic political upset that exposed deep fissures within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), rebel corporator Narayan Chaudhary was elected Mayor of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) on Friday. Chaudhary secured a commanding 48 votes in a triangular contest, defeating both the BJP’s official nominee and rival alliance candidates, and underlining the shifting political landscape in the powerloom city. C h a u d h a r y trounced Konark Vikas Aghadi candidate Vilas Patil, who managed 25 votes, and the BJP’s official nominee Sneha Patil, who was reduced to just 16 votes. The results were declared by Election Officer Shrikrishna Panchal amid heavy police deployment at the civic headquarters, where security had been tightened to prevent any untoward incidents. 4See also | city NEW DELHI Half an hour past noon on Friday, a group of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers staged a 'shirtless protest' at an AI Impact Summit exhibition hall, walking around holding Tshirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal printed on them, before being whisked away by security personnel. Delhi Police arrested four IYC workers in connection with the protest and is probing a wider conspiracy angle, an official said. Earlier in the day, they had detained around 15 IYC workers for holding the 'shirtless protest'. The arrested accused have been identified as Krishna Hari, national secretary of Youth Congress from Bihar; Kundan Yadav, state secretary of Bihar; Ajay Kumar, state president of Uttar Pradesh; and Narasimha Yadav from Telangana, he said. Police said the accused engaged in a protracted scuffle with security personnel and police staff deployed at the venue. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | money offgrid America’s ET files to be declassified Gold standard honesty glitters FPJ News Service Trump said he would direct the DoD and other federal agencies to identify and release government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life MUMBAI US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he would direct the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to identify and release government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, citing what he called the “tremendous interest” in the subject. The files, he said, would include information on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), along with “any and all other information con- nected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important matters.” The announcement came just hours after Trump accused former President Barack Obama of revealing “classified information” during a podcast appearance in which Obama said, “aliens are real.” “He’s not supposed to be doing that,” Trump told re- porters aboard Air Force One, his tone suggesting both indignation and opportunity. “He made a big mistake.” Yet when asked whether he personally believed in extraterrestrial life, Trump hedged. “Well, I don’t know if they’re real or not,” he said. “I may get him out of trouble by declassifying.” Obama’s original remarks, delivered with his trademark calm and intellectual detachment, were more nuanced than Trump suggested. 4Contd on | nation Rajesh Moudgil CHANDIGARH Haji Akhtar Khan, a kabari, returned gold jewellery worth nearly Rs 15 lakh to its rightful owner — months after it had been mistakenly sold to him as scrap In an age where cynicism often eclipses faith in human goodness, a humble scrap dealer from Haryana has restored belief in the enduring power of honesty. Haji Akhtar Khan, a kabari from Faridabad, recently returned gold jewellery worth nearly Rs 15 lakh to its rightful owner—months after it had been mistakenly sold to him as scrap. His act, simple yet profound, has warmed hearts and reminded many that integrity still lives quietly among ordinary people. The story began in January 2024, when Ashok Sharma, a resident of Ballabhgarh in Faridabad, prepared to travel with his family to Prayagraj for the Kumbh Mela. Concerned about the safety of his family’s gold jewellery in their absence, Sharma devised what he thought was a clever plan. 4Contd on | nation