Hiriyadka: Two men accused of firing a gun while hunting and damaging a car and the door of a house situated in Kanajaru here recently were arrested by Hiriyadka Police on Wednesday.

The officers have said that they have arrested Pradeep (35) of Kondadi in Kudi village and Manoj (25) of Guddeyangadi in Hiriyadka and seized an unlicensed shotgun, seven bullets and a motorbike worth Rs 40,000 from the duo. The arrested men have been produced before court and sent to judicial custody.

Pradeep and Manoj were reportedly hunting near the Brahmalingeshwara Temple of Kanajaru at dawn on September 1, when a shot fired hit the glass of the car and then the door of a house situated nearby. Hiriyadka Police reportedly registered a case based on a complaint given by owner of the house, Gururaj.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar and Additional SP Sudhakar. Deputy SP (Udupi Sub-division) Prabhu DT and Circle Inspector Gopikrishna led the team that included Hiriyadka Sub-inspector Puneeth Kumar Vithal Malvadkar and personnel Praveen Rai, Krishna and Karthik.

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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The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.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.