Monsoon begins retreat from flood-ravaged Punjab, neighbouring Haryana
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Chandigarh (PTI): The southwest monsoon on Tuesday withdrew from some parts of flood-ravaged Punjab and neighbouring Haryana.
According to the Meteorological (Met) Department, "Today, the southwest monsoon has further withdrawn from some more parts of Rajasthan, some parts of Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana... The line of withdrawal of the southwest monsoon now passes through Bathinda, Fatehabad, Pilani, Ajmer..."
The Met bulletin further said that the conditions are favourable for further withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from some more parts of Punjab and Haryana during the next two to three days.
Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at isolated places on September 17 and 19 and at a few places on September 18, says the Met forecast for the two states.
Notably, flood-ravaged Punjab had received 253.7 mm of rain in August, which was not only 74 per cent in excess of normal but also the highest the state had witnessed in the past 25 years.
Neighbouring Haryana received 194.5 mm of rain in August against an average of 147.7 mm for the month, marking a 32 per cent increase.
According to Met data, Punjab and Haryana had received excess rain in August only five times in the past 25 years, which included the previous month.
Notably, Punjab faced one of its worst flood disasters in decades.
The floods were a result of swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers along with seasonal rivulets caused by heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides, heavy rains in Punjab had also intensified the flooding situation.
The death toll because of the floods presently stands at 56 while crops on 1.98 lakh hectares were damaged.
Recently, heavy rains and some rivers flowing in spate also led to flooding in some parts of Haryana.
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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.
