Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah mocks PM Modi’s vow to track, punish terrorists
Chamarajanagar (Karnataka), Apr 25 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that India would identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers responsible for the Pahalgam attack “beyond their imagination.”
Siddaramaiah pointed out that Modi had made a similar statement after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, which killed over 40 soldiers.
"This happened even after he made the same statement in 2019. What did he say after the Pulwama terror attack? After that statement, 27 people were killed in Pahalgam by terrorists. He had then said he would wipe out terrorism. What happened?" Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
Responding to a query, he said he had no information about what transpired at the all-party meeting held on Thursday in New Delhi. "There were a lot of people around me, and I couldn’t follow it properly."
"It’s a central intelligence failure," Siddaramaiah alleged.
Terrorists opened fire at a tourist spot near Pahalgam in Kashmir on the afternoon of April 22, killing 26 people—mostly tourists—in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike.
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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.
