Delhi HC refuses urgent hearing on Hindu Sena president's plea against 'Adipurush'
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to urgently hear a public interest litigation by Hindu Sena's national president to "stay the streaming" of the film "Adipurush", a retelling of the epic Ramayana.
A vacation bench of Justices Tara Vitasta Ganju and Amit Mahajan declined petitioner Vishnu Gupta's request to list the matter for hearing either "today or tomorrow or day after".
His lawyer said the PIL is listed for hearing on June 30 but the purpose of the petition would be defeated by then.
The court observed that the movie has already been released and the date of release was also known well in advance and no case was made out for an urgent hearing.
"What are you restraining when it is already released? As of now, I am not convinced there is an urgency. Please come back on that day (June 30)," the court said.
The counsel for the petitioner said there are many "controversial parts" that are even hampering international relations as Nepal had banned the film. He claimed that director Om Raut had earlier assured that the problematic parts would be removed but did not do so and released the film.
According to the petition, "Adipurush" has hurt sentiments of the Hindu community by depicting religious characters and figures in an inaccurate and inappropriate manner, which is contrary to the description in Ramayana authored by writers such as Valmiki and Tulsidas.
The petition prayed for directions to authorities to cancel the film's certification and immediately ban it.
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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.
