Noted Kathak dancer claims performance on Sufi music stopped, UP govt denies charge
Lucknow, Noted Kathak dancer Manjari Chaturvedi has claimed that her 'Qawwali' performance organised by the Uttar Pradesh government at a private hotel here was "deliberately stopped".
The Culture Department of the UP government, has, however, denied the accusation. Speaking to a news channel, Chaturvedi said, "I was invited by the Culture department of the UP Government for a performance" on Friday.
When asked why her performance was stopped, she said, "This is something, which I think the organisers should answer. I was to perform for 45 minutes. I did my first sequence, which was on Vrindavan, and while I was performing that and still on stage, the music stopped".
She said when she looked towards the technician responsible for playing the music during the performance, she realised there was no technical glitch but that the performance was stopped on purpose.
"When you are on the stage, you cannot shout or say things, so I turned around to see (towards the technical person) and saw that music has been stopped mid-way. So I realised that music has been stopped deliberately, because otherwise why would the anchor come and announce the other act. Later, when I asked the technicians, they said that there was no technical glitch," she said.
The dancer also said, "I heard the officials coming from the side of the stage, and saying that 'Qawwali nahi ho sakti' (No Qawwali can be performed), 'Qawwali nahi ho sakti yehaan per' (No Qawwali can be performed here)."
Chaturvedi was performing the classical dance form on Qawwali, which is Sufi Islamic devotional music that evolved in the Indian subcontinent.
When contacted, an official of the Culture department, who was present at the venue, on Saturday said, "The programme was going on. The weather was not very good, so it was decided that only two presentations (by artists) will be made."
On Chaturvedi's claim that her Qawwali was deliberately stopped mid-way, the official said, "What she is saying is not true. Her Qawwali was over, and she was stopped for next performance as there was no time. The Qawwali performance was over. Her allegations are baseless."
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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.
