Odisha: College lecturer held for parading wife on road over adultery suspicion in Puri
Bhubaneswar (PTI): The Odisha Police arrested two persons, including a 43-year-old college lecturer, on charges of parading his 37-year-old estranged wife along with her male associate on a road, suspecting them of having an extramarital relationship.
The incident took place at Nimapada town in Puri district on Tuesday night when the accused lecturer, along with his friend, barged into the residence of his wife, who was living separately for the past few years, and allegedly assaulted her, a senior officer said.
The lecturer claimed that his wife was in a relationship with another man, for which he assaulted her.
However, both the wife and her male companion rejected the allegation, the police said.
"We have arrested the lecturer and his associate on charges of outraging the modesty of a woman, physically assaulting her, publicly humiliating them by making them parade on the streets," Bamadev Swain, the inspector-in-charge of Nimapada police station, told PTI over the phone.
In a purported video clip that went viral on social media, the college lecturer and his friend were seen assaulting the woman and her companion and parading them.
However, PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The woman, who has a 14-year-old son, was staying separately in a rented accommodation at Nimapada town, the police 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.
