Ads case: SC reserves order on contempt notice issued to Ramdev, Balkrishna, Patanjali Ayurved
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its order on the contempt notice issued to yoga guru Ramdev, his aide Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd in the misleading advertisements case.
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah noted that the counsel appearing for the firm has sought time to file affidavit indicating the steps being taken to recall the advertisements of those products of Patanjali whose licences have been suspended.
The bench said the affidavit be filed within three weeks.
"Orders are reserved on the contempt notice issued to respondents 5 to 7 (Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, Balkrishna and Ramdev)," the bench said.
During the hearing, Indian Medical Association (IMA) president R V Asokan unconditionally apologised to the bench for his statements made against the apex court in a recent interview to the PTI where he answered questions about Patanjali Ayurved's misleading advertisements case.
"You can't sit on a couch giving an interview to the press and lampooning the court," Justice Kohli told Asokan.
The bench told the IMA's counsel that at this stage, the court was not inclined to accept the affidavit of apology tendered by the IMA president.
While hearing the matter on May 7, the top court had termed as "very, very unacceptable" the statements made by Asokan.
The Uttarakhand State Licensing Authority (SLA) had earlier told the apex court that manufacturing licenses of 14 products of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd and Divya Pharmacy have been "suspended with immediate effect".
The apex court is hearing a plea filed in 2022 by the IMA alleging a smear campaign by Patanjali against the Covid vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine.
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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.
