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The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.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.
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Delhi Capitals beat Rajasthan Royals by 5 wickets in IPL
New Delhi (PTI): Abhishek Porel and KL Rahul hit fluent half-centuries as Delhi Capitals overhauled a competitive Rajasthan Royals total to register a five-wicket victory in their Indian Premier League clash here on Sunday.
Porel, playing only his third IPL match of the season, looked in fine touch during his 31-ball 51, while KL Rahul bounced back from a couple of underwhelming outings with a composed 56 off 42 deliveries as Delhi Capitals completed the chase of 194 in 19.2 overs.
The opening pair stitched together a match-winning 105-run partnership that laid the foundation for DC's chase, before Axar Patel scored an unbeaten 34 off 18 deliveries to complete the chase.
Earlier, Mitchell Starc starred with the ball for DC, producing a devastating spell of fast bowling to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 193 for 8.
Starc ripped through the RR middle order in a dramatic 15th over, dismissing a well-set Riyan Parag (51), Donovan Ferreira (0) and Ravi Singh (4). The left-arm pacer struck off the second, third and fifth deliveries of the over, narrowly missing out on a hat-trick.
Despite the collapse, Rajasthan Royals still managed a competitive total thanks to impressive half-centuries from skipper Parag and Dhruv Jurel, who made 53 off 40 balls, while young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi contributed a valuable 46 at the top of the order.
Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals: 193 for 8 in 20 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 46, Dhruv Jurel 53, Riyan Parag 51; Lungi Ngidi 2/24, Madhav Tiwari 2/27, Mitchell Starc 4/40).
Delhi Capitals: 197 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Abishek Porel 51, KL Rahul 56, Axar Patel 34 not out; Jofra Archer 2/35, Brijesh Sharma 2/44).
