Kerala cabinet clears draft bill to allow killing of dangerous wild animals
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala government on Saturday approved a draft bill to amend the Wildlife Protection Act with the objective of reducing the increasing human-animal conflicts in the state.
A special cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, gave a nod to the draft legislation that empowers the Chief Wildlife Warden to order the immediate killing of any wild animal that enters an inhabited area and attacks and injures a person, official sources said.
This is the first time that a state has brought such an amendment to the central law, a CMO statement said.
"The draft of the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025 has been approved by the Cabinet. The bill seeks to amend the central Wildlife (Protection) Act. This is the first time in India that a state is bringing such an amendment to a central law," it said.
State Forest Minister A K Saseendran later said the provisions in the Bill help to avoid impractical and time-consuming procedures in the central law and in the standard operating procedures issued by the union government.
However, the minister said that there is no legal obstacle to protecting those wildlife species that need to be protected, as per the draft bill.
If someone is seriously injured in a wildlife attack and the matter is reported to the chief wildlife warden, he can take necessary action, including killing the wild animal, without wasting time on other procedures, the minister said, quoting the provisions in the draft bill.
At present, central law has the authority to declare any wild animal in Schedule II as a vermin if its numbers are found to have increased uncontrollably, Saseendran said.
A provision has been added to the present draft bill to give this authority to the state government, he explained.
Once declared as a vermin, anyone can kill that particular wild animal in any way they want, Saseendran further explained the provisions of the draft bill.
There is no obstacle to eating its meat as well, the minister added.
The Kerala cabinet cleared the draft bill to amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act months after CM Vijayan called for amending the central law citing challenges faced by the state government in dealing with instances of wild animals encroaching into human habitats.
He had said that even in emergency situations, the central laws pose a major obstacle to dealing with encroaching wild animals.
The CM had also said that the state government places paramount importance on safeguarding both human lives and preventing conflicts with wildlife.
The state has been witnessing increasing instances of human-animal conflicts in recent days.
The bill also assumes political significance in view of upcoming local body and Assembly elections as a permanent solution to address the menace that has been a long-pending demand of high range people in the state.
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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.
