Kochi, Dec 24: Malayalam film director Shanavas Naranippuzha, who suffered a heart attack a few days ago, died at a private hospital here, film industry sources said here on Thursday.

Shanavas(37), hailing from Naranipuzha near Ponnani in Malappuram district, was admitted to a hospital in Coimbatore in a serious condition after he suffered a heart attack.

But he suffered another attack while being shifted to the private hospital here last night for better medical care, hospital sources said.

He was brought to the hospital at 9 pm in a serious condition.

His end came after 10 pm. He had suffered brain damage too.

Efforts to revive him did not yield result, they said.

Shanavas's movie "Sufiyum Sujatayum" was the first Malayalam film released on OTT platform during coronavirus lockdown.

Aditi Rao Hydari, who was the lead actress in the movie, recalled that he was "as kind and sensitive as his stories".

"Rest in Peace Shanavas sir. I Hope your Sufi soul finds a place as beautiful as the one you created for us in Sufiyum Sujathayum.

Gone too soon. My Prayers and condolences to the family," she wrote on her social media account.

"Karie" released in2015 was his debut movie.

Kerala cultural minister A K Balan condoled his untimely demise, saying it was a huge loss for the Malayalam film industry.

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New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.

The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.

So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.

The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.

With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.

A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.

The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.

The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.

The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.

This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.

The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.

A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.

Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.

An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.

The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.