25 ton-Quran to be auctioned in Kochi as importer fails to pay customs duty
Kochi, Jan 10: A consignment of the Holy Quran weighing 25 tonnes sent from Saudi Arabia six months ago is going to be auctioned at the International Transshipment Container Terminal here after the importer, a College in Malappuram, expressed inability to pay the Rs 8 lakh customs duty, official sources said.
Abdul Salam IP, principal of Darul Uloom Arabic College at Vazhakkad in Malappuram district, said he could not claim the huge quantity of holy books as the customs duty was "very high" and it was not affordable for him.
He said he may take the books when it is auctioned by the current custodian of the books after the customs department fix a "correct rate" for it.
The customs have reportedly fixed Rs 1 lakh as a base price for the consignment at the e-auction to be carried out on January 21.
An officer told PTI that everything is being done online in a transparent manner.
Salam said when he requested the customs department to send the consignment back to Saudi Arabia, he was informed that a huge amount has to be paid for that.
He said he gave a letter to the Container terminal authorities seeking to carry out auction of the books after he was informed that Rs 8 lakh would be levied as customs duty.
Salam said the books were sent free of cost from Saudi Arabia after he informed a contact in the Gulf country that a lot of books in his college neighbourhood were lost in the 2018 Kerala floods.
"It is original text of Holy Quran. The books were brought here for free distribution," Salam told PTI.
He said he had requested some of his friends for help but they could not as they were also facing financial problems due to floods.
Salam said he was worried over the "unnecessary controversy" being generated over the issue by trying to give the whole episode a communal colour.
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
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.
