Woman arrested for killing step daughter in Karnataka's Bidar
Bidar (PTI): A woman has been arrested on charges of killing her six-year-old step-daughter by pushing her from the third floor of the building they were residing in, police said on Monday.
The incident occurred on August 27 in Adarsh Colony here, they said.
The accused woman, Radha, who is in her 20s, allegedly deliberately pushed the girl identified as Shanvi from the open terrace on the third floor of the building, and projected her cause of death as an accident, police said.
The girl's father Siddhant trusting his second wife's version of the incident filed a report with the Gandhi Ganj police station on August 28 stating that his daughter died after she allegedly slipped and fell from the third floor of the building, a senior police officer said.
However, the involvement of the girl's step-mother Radha came to light on Saturday after a neighbour found a footage of the incident captured in the CCTV camera installed in their vicinity, he said.
In the CCTV footage, according to police, Radha was seen walking suspiciously on the open terrace with the girl and seen deliberately pushing her off.
After examination of the CCTV footage and detailed investigation, a case of murder was registered on the complaint of the deceased's grandmother against the accused woman and she was arrested in this regard, a senior police officer said.
The deceased's mother had passed away in 2019 due to an illness, following which Siddhant, after a few years, married Radha, police said.
Siddhant and Radha have twin children from their marriage and during interrogation, she told police that she killed her step-daughter as she wanted the property to be divided only among her own children, they added.
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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.
