Anita Goyal, wife of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, passes away
Mumbai, May 16: Anita Goyal, wife of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal who played a key role in the management of the now-grounded airline, died here on Thursday. She was 70.
Ailing for quite some time, she died at a private hospital in the city, sources said. She is survived by husband Naresh and two children, daughter Namrata and son Nivaan Goyal.
The last rites of Anita were performed around 2 pm at the Chandanwadi crematorium in Marine Lines area. Family members and friends including industrialist Anil Ambani, Bollywood actor Shabana Azmi and her lyricist husband Javed Akhtar were present at the crematorium besides some former employees of Jet Airways, sources said.
Anita had served as non-executive vice president and a board member of Jet Airways which was grounded in April 2019 amid acute liquidity crunch after flying for 25 years.
She was in charge of key areas of revenue management and network planning at the airline when it was operational.
A former employee who had worked closely with Anita Goyal told PTI that she was completely involved in the day-to-day functioning of Jet Airways.
"Anita also used to hold meetings with representatives of aircraft makers, Boeing and Airbus, as part of her role as vice president," he said.
The Goyals stepped down from their respective positions at the airline on March 25, 2019.
In 2023, both Anita and Naresh Goyal were named as accused in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate. Naresh, once a high-flying tycoon, was arrested, and is currently on interim bail on medical grounds; Anita was never arrested.
Jet Airways is undergoing an insolvency resolution process but the final handing over of the bankrupt carrier to the winning bidder is facing legal hurdles.
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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.
