Forced to carry son's body in bag aboard bus as govt hospital denied mortuary van, alleges MP man
Dindori/Jabalpur (PTI): A man has alleged that he was forced to carry the body of his newborn baby boy in a bag and travel in a passenger bus after a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur, where he died during treatment, refused to provide any mortuary vehicle saying no such facility was available.
The incident occurred on June 15, he said.
A state health department official, however, said that the baby boy was alive when his parents took him out of the hospital even as doctors asked them not to do so as the child's condition was serious.
Sunil Dhurve, a resident of Sahajpuri village in Dindori district of the state, said his wife Jamni Bai delivered the baby boy on June 13 in a government hospital and since the child was weak, the case was referred to the Jabalpur-based government medical facility.
"The baby was admitted to the government-run Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College Hospital in Jabalpur, where he died during treatment on June 15. The hospital, however, did not provide a mortuary vehicle to carry the body to my native place. Due to financial constraints, I had to travel by bus carrying the body in a bag," he said.
Talking to PTI, state Health Department Joint Director Dr Sanjay Mishra said the baby boy was alive he when discharged from the government hospital in Jabalpur
The baby was referred to the Jabalpur hospital from a medical facility in Dindori district, he said.
"The newborn baby was admitted and his treatment was started. But his parents made a request to the hospital to discharge their child although the doctors asked them not to do so as the condition of the baby was serious," Mishra said.
On whether any mortuary vehicles were available to carry the deceased persons, he said that no such facility was available at the government hospital.
Dindori is located around 140 km from Jabalpur.
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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.
