Former aide of Adityanath joins SP; Akhilesh says BJP's days are numbered
Lucknow: Once seen as the right hand man of Adityanath, at least till he became the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister three years ago, former chief of Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV) Sunil Singh on Saturday joined the Samajwadi Party.
Singh was inducted into the SP in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. Some Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leaders also joined the SP at the party headquarters here.
Singh along with some others were expelled from the HYV, formed by Adityanath in 2002, on charges of indiscipline in January 2017. He had then created a splinter outfit and declared himself as its national president.
Welcoming Singh and others to the SP fold, Akhilesh Yadav said, "The days of the Adityanath government are numbered and the countdown has already begun."
He said the BJP government has slapped cases against opposition leaders for protesting against its policies.
"The government is doing injustice from day one and false cases are being lodged for protesting," said the former chief minister, adding the BJP only promoting communalism and creating a Hindu-Muslim divide.
Akhilesh said he was happy that HYV workers were with the SP now and hoped that they would unmask the real intentions of the BJP.
On the occasion, Mulayam Singh Yadav termed the youth as the future of the SP and said that farmers, youth and traders have to be strengthened to make India a developed country.
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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.
