Five cases of West Nile fever confirmed in Kerala; all infected healthy
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): Five cases of West Nile fever have been confirmed in the north Kerala district of Kozhikode, health officials said on Tuesday.
The infected persons, which included children, are all fine now and back at their homes with no new cases reported from the areas they live in, an official of the district surveillance team said.
He also said that presently there was one person who is suspected of suffering from the vector-borne infection and is undergoing treatment.
The official said that the samples of those who exhibited symptoms of the disease and had undergone treatment were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune as a routine exercise.
"The results came back now and indicated that they were suffering from West Nile fever. They are all better now," he said.
The West Nile fever is spread by the Culex species of mosquitoes. It was first detected in 1937 in Uganda. The fever was first detected in Kerala in 2011 and a six-year-old boy from Malappuram died due to the fever in 2019.
Thereafter, in May 2022, a 47-year-old man died of the fever in Thrissur district.
The West Nile virus can cause a fatal neurological disease in humans but most of those infected may not show any symptoms. It is mainly transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes, according to the state health department.
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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.
