Belagavi: Two children kidnapped, abductors nabbed with help of technical surveillance
Belagavi (Karnataka), Oct 25: Two children of a businessman were allegedly kidnapped from their residence in this district headquarters town, police said on Friday.
A CCTV footage of the incident showed two men entering the house and running away with them - a four-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy, they said.
Both the children have been secured and handed over to their parents while the three men involved in the alleged kidnapping have been arrested, police said.
According to police, the incident took place on Thursday afternoon after the two kids had just returned from school and were playing inside the living room of the house. At the time, only their grandmother was at home.
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The third accused was waiting with a car a few metres away from the house. The two men pushed the children inside the vehicle and sped away.
The police managed to trace the route of the suspects with the help of CCTV footage and technical surveillance, and immediately alerted their counterparts in the neighbouring districts, a senior police official said.
"With the help of technical surveillance, the police team chased the vehicle in which the kidnapped children were taken away by the accused and intercepted the vehicle near Kohalli in Belagavi district at around 4.25 am on Friday," he said.
"Both the children have been secured safely. They did not have any injuries and the three accused who were in the vehicle were also arrested in connection with the incident," the official said.
During interrogation, one of the accused revealed that he had invested in the trading platform of the businessman and incurred heavy losses. When he asked the businessman over Rs one crore following this, he refused to pay him and, so, he decided to kidnap the children, he said.
#WATCH | Karnataka: Kidnapping of two children, aged 3 and 4 years, in Belagavi district was caught on CCTV.
— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2024
Belagavi police launched a manhunt for two kidnappers who arrived in a car, entered a home with weapons, kidnapped two children and escaped in a car. The parents of the… pic.twitter.com/D36U4plaf3
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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.
