Heat stroke claims 9 lives in Bihar in past 48 hours
Patna, Jun 20: Heat strokes claimed nine lives in Bihar in the past 48 hours, the state Disaster Management department (DMD) said on Tuesday.
According to a DMD statement, five casualties were reported in Bhojpur, three in Arwal and one in Jehanabad in the last 48 hours.
Bihar Disaster Management Minister Shahnawaz told PTI that over 22 deaths attributed to heat stroke have been found to be caused by other factors.
Meanwhile, light rain at a few places in the state provided some relief to people from the scorching heat and also brought down the maximum temperature by two to three degrees Celsius.
Aurangabad district sizzled at 42.1 degrees Celsius, the highest in the state, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, adding Patna recorded a maximum of 40.5 degrees.
The mercury had soared past the 45-degrees Celsius mark on June 17.
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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The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.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.
