Gujarat HC orders production of rape accused to explore possibility of 'compromise'
Ahmedabad, Jun 15: Hearing the plea of a 16-year-old rape survivor seeking permission for abortion, the Gujarat High Court on Thursday asked the authorities to produce the accused so that the possibility of a "compromise" between him and the girl could be explored.
Earlier, the court had ordered the rape survivor's medical examination.
After taking on record the submissions made by her lawyer and medical reports submitted by a panel of doctors, Justice Samir Dave on Thursday directed the authorities to produce the 23-year-old accused, who is lodged in judicial custody in Morbi jail, on Friday evening.
"Where is the accused? Any chance of compromise?" the judge asked the survivor's lawyer Sikandar Saiyad before passing the order.
The lawyer had argued earlier that the girl may end her life if she was forced to give birth.
Advocate Saiyad told the court that he had tried his best to explore the possibility of compromise, but "the accused was not ready".
To this, Justice Dave said, "OK, I will call him. If he is behind bars, I may call him. Let me ask him....Let me ascertain from the boy....I have thought of some solutions. But I am not disclosing them. Will consider tomorrow."
Advocate Saiyad replied that if the accused was ready, "the chapter ends". "That will save three lives," he added.
But Assistant Public Prosecutor Jaswant Shah intervened, saying that earlier "something said in good faith by the court was unnecessarily taken otherwise.. I am worried about misquotation."
Shah was referring to Justice Dave's remark last week during the hearing of the same case where he cited the Manusmriti to note that in the past girls would get married early and give birth to their first child before turning 17.
Responding to Shah, Justice Dave said a judge should remain 'sthita-prajna' (stoic).
"Learned APP is saying that if something comes from the court, people will criticise you. But one thing I may say is that a judge should be like sthita-prjana as mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita. Judge has to be like that. Praise or criticising, one should ignore both the things," the judge said.
During an earlier hearing, Justice Dave had made it clear that the court may not permit the termination of pregnancy if the survivor and the foetus were in good condition.
The rape survivor is 16 years and 11 months old and carrying a seven-month-old foetus. Her father moved the HC seeking permission for abortion as the pregnancy had crossed the 24-week threshold up to which abortion can be performed without a court's leave.
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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.
