Mumbai: Posing as cops, six men barge into cafe owner’s home, take away Rs 25 lakh; four held
Mumbai(PTI): Six men claiming to be from the crime branch entered a cafe owner's home in Mumbai’s Sion area and allegedly took away Rs 25 lakh, an official said on Thursday. The police have arrested four of them.
The complainant, who runs a popular cafe in the city’s Matunga area, told the police that six persons came to his house near the Sion hospital on Tuesday saying they were from the Mumbai crime branch.
The men claimed that they were on election duty and had information that he had kept money for use in connection with the Lok Sabha polls, the official said citing the complaint.
Mumbai will vote in the fifth phase of general elections on May 20.
The hotelier told them that he had only Rs 25 lakh cash from his food business and it had nothing to do with the elections, the official said.
However, the six accused took the money and left his home threatening to implicate him in a crime. The cafe owner then approached the Sion police station, prompting an investigation.
During the probe, the police arrested four of the accused.
Cops suspect the involvement of a retired police constable and personnel of the police motor transport department in the crime, the official added.
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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.
