Delhi Police, NSG conduct mock drills at IGI, metro station, school
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police along with the National Security Guard (NSG) conducted security mock drills at the IGI airport, Rajiv Chowk Metro Station and DPS RK Puram here late Friday and early Saturday.
The drills come days after nearly 200 schools received hoax bomb threats.
The drill was conducted at IGI airport at Friday 10 pm by the NSG commandoes and Delhi Police.
As part of the drill, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which looks after the security of airport, was alerted about a mock terror attack.
Other agencies like fire department and Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) also joined the drill, which went on for at least half an hour, an officer said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) told the media "no need to panic. It is a terror attack mock drill exercise which is being conducted in a coordinated manner with other agencies."
A similar exercise were conducted at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station at 1 am and Hyderbad House at 1.30 am and at Delhi Public School in RK Puram at 3 am.
At the school, the security personnel checked their preparedness against a terror attack or a bomb plant.
Earlier on Friday, mock drills were conducted at Taj Palace Hotel, Yasho Bhoomi in Dwarka, Kashmere Gate Metro Station and the New Parliament building in central Delhi.
An officer said though all bomb threats turned out to be hoax on Wednesday, they could not afford to take any chance, hence the mock drills.
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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.
