Fire at coaching institute in Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar, students climb down building using ropes
CM Kejriwal calls fire at coaching institute 'unfortunate'; says no need to panic
New Delhi, Jun 15: Students of a coaching institute in northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar area on Thursday smashed windows, climbed down ropes and took help of ladders in desperate attempts to escape a fire that broke out on the top floor of the building housing it.
A call about the fire was received at 12.27 pm and 11 fire tenders were pressed into service, said Delhi Fire Service Director Atul Garg.
Garg told PTI video that 10-12 students suffered minor injuries while climbing down ropes in panic. "There is no major causality. All students have been rescued. All are safe," he said.
Preliminary inquiry suggested that the fire started from the meter board installed at the fourth floor of the building. The building comprises ground plus four floors, officials said.
In a video shared by the fire department, the firemen can be seen rescuing people, mostly students, through the windows.
The panic-stricken students are seen climbing down from the top floor of the building with the help of ropes. Smoke can also be seen coming out of that floor.
Ropes on the other side of the building were also used by the students to come out of the premises. The video shows trapped students coming out of the top floor of the building one by one. Some of them are also seen throwing their bags and helping one another during the rescue operation.
A large crowd gathered on the ground floor with many of them recording videos of the incident on their mobile phones.
"The firefighting operation has been finished. So far no major injuries have been reported," Garg added.
Describing the fire incident as "very unfortunate", Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "Some students have suffered minor injuries while trying to escape, rest are safe. There is nothing to panic. The fire has been brought under control by the fire department. The district administration is also present at the spot".
Delhi Police spokesperson Suman Nalwa said the fire started from the electric meters of the building and the smoke spread to the other floors.
"A coaching centre was running on the upper floor of the building. Smoke coming out of the building created panic. Students tried to come out of the building from windows and some of them suffered injuries. They were taken to hospital and the fire has been brought under control," she added.
Mukherjee Nagar is a coaching hub for government job aspirants.
Massive fire breaks out in Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar inside a Coaching Centre. Brave students escape through windows climbing down using wires. This calls for audit of all such buildings. Was there proper fire safety equipment and escape routes? Sad visuals but a lesson for Govt. pic.twitter.com/hwZMeYfeEu
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) June 15, 2023
आग की ये घटना बेहद दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है। कुछ छात्र बचने के प्रयास में मामूली रूप से घायल हुए हैं, बाक़ी सभी छात्र सुरक्षित हैं। घबराने की बात नहीं है, दमकल विभाग द्वारा आग पर क़ाबू पा लिया गया है। ज़िला प्रशासन भी मौक़े पर मौजूद है। https://t.co/h32QYbxuKB
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 15, 2023
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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.
