Man allowed by court to pay maintenance dues of Rs 55,000 in 1 and 2 rupee coins
Jaipur, Jun 20: In a bizarre case, a man was allowed by a court here to give Rs 55,000 in one and two rupee coins to his wife as maintenance dues for 11 months after his family brought the money filled in seven sacks to the court following his arrest for non-payment.
While the counsel for his wife objected to it, terming it "mental harassment", the judge allowed the payment but asked the man to count the coins in court to make packets of Rs 1000 each and hand them over to her at the next hearing on June 26, according to lawyers from both sides.
The couple's divorce case is being heard in a family court. The court had directed the husband, Dashrath Kumawat, to give the maintenance amount of Rs 5000 per month but he was not paying it for the last 11 months.
Dashrath, a resident of Harmada area in Jaipur, was arrested on June 17 after family court number 1 issued a recovery warrant against him for non-payment of maintenance.
"Since the husband refused to give the amount, the police arrested him. The family court was closed due to holidays so he was produced in the link court of Additional District Judge (ADG)-number 8.
"In the court, the family members of Dashrath reached with coins worth Rs 55000 to give to his wife," Raman Gupta, the advocate of the husband, told PTI on Tuesday.
He said that the coins were in the denomination Re 1 and Rs 2 and were stuffed in seven sacks.
The advocate of his wife objected to this, but it was argued on behalf of the husband that these coins are legal tender and no one can refuse to accept them.
"The court then allowed the husband to give the coins after counting them on the next hearing in the family court on June 26. Till then, the coins will remain in the custody of the court. The husband will have to count the coins and make packets of Rs 1000 each before handing them over to the wife in the court," he said.
Wife Seema Kumawat's advocate Ramprakash Kumawat said that giving coins to the woman was "equal to mental harassment".
"It was done in a preplanned manner just to harass the woman. However, the court has permitted him to give the coins," 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.
