Mumbai, Jun 19: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the heads of state and government of 120 nations wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead them and become their voice on the global front.

He was speaking at a Bharatiya Janata Party rally in Kalyan in neighbouring Thane district.

"The heads or prime ministers of 120 countries passed a resolution asking PM Modi to lead them. They asked him to become their voice on the global front. This is the recognition our country's leader has received," Fadnavis said.

However, Fadnavis did not provide any details during his address about the resolution or the nations involved.

Incidentally, India hosted a two-day virtual special summit titled 'Voice of the Gobal South Summit' in January this year that, which saw the participation of 120 developing nations.

The summit, the theme of which was 'Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose', was inspired by the PM's vision of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayas' (inclusivity, development, confidence and efforts of all), officials had said at the time.

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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The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.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.