Gujarat: Father-son duo die while trying to save livestock from flashflood as cyclone brings rain
Bhavnagar (Guj) (PTI): As cyclone Biparjoy brought heavy rains to several parts of Gujarat, a cattle-rearer duo of father and son died while trying to save their goats stuck in a flooded ravine in Bhavnagar district on Thursday.
Several parts of Gujarat including Bhavnagar received considerable rain on Thursday as the cyclone made landfall in Kutch district.
Following a spell of rain since morning, water started flowing in a ravine passing through Bhandar village near Sihor town, said Mamlatdar (revenue official) S N Vala.
"Due to the sudden inflow of water, a herd of goats got stuck in the ravine. To save the animals, 55-year old Ramji Parmar and his son Rakesh Parmar (22) entered the ravine. However, they got swept away in the waters. Their bodies were fished out some distance away," said Vala, adding that 22 goats and a sheep also died.
No cyclone-related death was reported otherwise in the state, officials said.
In Kutch district, which was the worst-affected region, there were no reports of deaths, said collector Amit Arora.
"Thanks to the mass evacuation we had carried out in advance, no one has died in Kutch so far due to any incident linked to the cyclone. Some trees and electric poles were uprooted due to winds blowing at a speed of nearly 80 kilometers per hour," he said.
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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.
