Nirbhaya's mother being 'misguided', Delhi govt had no role in delaying convicts' hanging : Kejriwal
New Delhi: Denying the Delhi government's role in delaying the hanging of the Nirbhaya case convicts, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the victim's mother is being "misguided" and accused BJP leader Prakash Javadekar of politicising the matter.
Kejriwal, who is the AAP's national convener, told reporters that whatever responsibilities the Delhi government had, it had finished them within a few hours.
"We sent the mercy petition within hours, so the Delhi government has no role in delaying the hanging of the convicts," he said.
On Javadekar's allegations that the Delhi government is delaying the convicts' hanging, Kejriwal said the BJP leader is doing politics over the matter and this is not good.
Union minister Javadekar had also said that all the four convicts would have been hanged by now, had the AAP government acted quickly and served notices to them immediately after the Supreme Court rejected their appeal against death sentence in 2017.
Reacting to reports that Nirbhaya's mother said those people who held protests on streets in 2012, today they are only playing with her daughter's death for political gains, Kejriwal said she is being "misguided".
"Why would our government try to delay, we want them hanged at the earliest. I think she is being misguided. The Delhi government barely has any role in the whole process," he said.
The AAP has accused the BJP of "misleading" the people, saying law and order is the Centre's domain.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
