Bihar bridge collapse: Body of the missing security guard found after 10 days
Khagaria (PTI): Ten days after the collapse of the four-lane Sultanganj-Aguwani Ghat bridge being built across the Ganga in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, the body of the missing security guard has been found in Kauwakol block, an official said.
Workers engaged in removal of debris of the collapsed bridge found the body from the flood plain of Kauwakol block, the official said.
The deceased has been identified as Vibhash Kumar, who was working as a guard for the Haryana-based private firm that was constructing the bridge. Deployed on pillar number 10 of the Sultanganj-Aguwani Ghat bridge, which collapsed on June 4, Vibhash Kumar went missing since then.
Talking to reporters here, Dharmendra Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Parbata Police Station, said, "After the recovery of the body on Tuesday, family members of Vibhash Kumar were immediately informed. His uncle, Ramvilasa Yadav, and other family members identified the body of Kumar. Later, the body was sent for post-mortem examination".
Kumar died in the bridge collapse and his body was swept away by water currents.
A section of an under-construction bridge, known as Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge, over the Ganga river collapsed in Bhagalpur district on June 4. This bridge was being built to connect Bhagalpur and Khagaria. A day after the collapse, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had said that strict action would be taken against those found guilty.
"The bridge that collapsed had also collapsed last year. It is not being constructed properly that is the reason it collapsed twice since April 2022", the CM had told reporters.
Immediately after the incident, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister, Tejashwi Yadav, who also holds the portfolio of the Road Construction department, had said that the state government was anyway planning to demolish the under-construction bridge because of structural flaws.
"A portion of this bridge had collapsed on April 30 last year. We had, thereafter, approached IIT-Roorkee, which is known for its expertise in construction matters, to conduct a study. It is yet to come up with a final report but experts who had studied the structure had informed us that there were serious defects," Yadav had said.
The Haryana-based company, which was awarded the contract, has already been served with a show cause notice by the Managing Director of Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam and asked to reply within 15 days following the incident. The department also suspended the executive engineer concerned for his failure to keep an eye on the quality of the work.
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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.
