Elderly Sikh woman detained by immigration authorities in US, family calls for her release
New York (PTI): A 73-year old Sikh woman has been detained by immigration authorities in California after she went for a routine check-in with the US agency, sparking protests and concerns among her family and members of the community.
Harjit Kaur, who has lived in the East Bay in Northern California for more than 30 years, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials during a routine check-in earlier this week, a report in Berkeleyside, a nonprofit news portal, said.
The report added that her family along with hundreds of members from the community organised a protest Friday, calling for the immediate release of Kaur, who was detained on Monday after ICE asked her to come to the San Francisco office to turn in additional paperwork.
“She was taken to a detention centre in Bakersfield,” the report said.
Harjit Kaur was undocumented, according to a report in ABC7News. She came to the United States in 1992 from India as a single mother with two sons. Her asylum case was denied in 2012, but since then she has “faithfully reported” to ICE in San Francisco every six months for more than 13 years, her daughter-in-law Manji Kaur said.
The Berkeleyside report said that “ICE assured her she could remain in the United States under supervision with work permits until they could receive her travel documents.”
The protest on Friday was organised by Kaur’s family, Indivisible West Contra Costa County and the Sikh Centre. Members of US Rep John Garamendi’s staff, local elected officials and other political leaders also attended, the report said.
KTVU Fox 2 news portal quoted Congressman Garamendi as saying that his office has sent an inquiry to ICE requesting that Kaur be reunited with her family.
In a statement, Garamendi said: “President (Donald) Trump initially promised to go after the ‘worst of the worst’ in his immigration policy. Yet this administration’s decision to detain a 73-year-old woman — a respected member of the community with no criminal record who has faithfully reported to ICE every six months for more than 13 years — is one more example of the misplaced priorities of Trump’s immigration enforcement.”
“Our office will do everything possible to support her case and her family,” he said. Local Council member Dilli Bhattarai said, according to The Berkeleyside report, that he is looking into how his city can put pressure on the federal government to release Kaur.
“She is not doing any harm to the community. She is an abiding [constituent] just like us,” Bhattarai said. “She has all the rights to be here as a community member and we should all support her immediate release.”
Kaur, who has two grandsons and three granddaughters among other relatives, had worked for over two decades at a local Indian clothing store, the report said.
Her granddaughter Sukhdeep Kaur described Kaur as an “independent, selfless, hard-working” and termed her as a “mother figure” [to the community].
“We are all just in a state of shock,” Sukhdeep Kaur said.
Her family voiced concern over her health, claiming that being detained at her age with serious health issues such as thyroid disease, migraine, knee pain, and anxiety, her life could be at risk, the report 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.
