3 High Court judges appointed to Supreme Court
New Delhi, Aug 4 : Three High Court judges were on Saturday appointed to the Supreme Court, including K.M. Joseph, the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court, ending a standoff between Centre and the judiciary.
The President signed the warrants of appointment of Justice Joseph, Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Orissa High Court Chief Justice Vineet Saran.
"In exercise of the power conferred by the clause (2) of the article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Justice K.M. Joseph, Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, to be a Judge of the Supreme Court of India with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office," said the notification of Justice Joseph.
The total number of judges in the apex court would now be 25, against the sanctioned strength of 31. With the appointment of Justice Banerjee, the top court would have three female judges.
The top court collegium had reiterated its January 10 recommendation saying it had noted that there was nothing adverse regarding suitability of Justice Joseph in the two communications sent by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad while returning the recommendation for reconsideration.
Recommending Justice Joseph's elevation to the top court, the collegium said: "The collegium considers that at present Justice K.M. Joseph is more deserving and suitable in all respects than other Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of High Courts for being appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court."
The government had, however, sent the files back to the collegium to reconsider Joseph's name, invoking the principle of seniority, saying that he stood at number 42 in the seniority of High Court Judges and that there were 11 Chief Justices of High Courts senior to him.
The government had also flagged the issue of non-representation of judges from the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the apex court.
However, the general perception was that Justice Joseph had earned the displeasure of the central government after a bench headed by him ruled against the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand.
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MP: 40 years after Bhopal gas disaster, toxic waste leaves Union Carbide factory for disposal
Bhopal, Jan 1: Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the shifting of some 377 tons of hazardous waste began from the defunct Union Carbide factory on Wednesday night for its disposal, an official said.
The toxic waste is being shifted in 12 sealed container trucks to the Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, 250 km away from Bhopal.
"12 container trucks carrying the waste set off on a non-stop journey around 9 pm. A green corridor has been created for the vehicles which are expected to reach Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district in seven hours," said Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh.
He said around 100 people worked in 30-minute shifts since Sunday to pack and load the waste in trucks.
"They underwent health check-ups and were given rest every 30 minutes," he added.
Highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, killing at least 5,479 people and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues. It is considered to be among the worst industrial disasters in the world.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3 rebuked authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site in Bhopal despite directions from even the Supreme Court and set a four-week deadline to shift the waste, observing that even 40 years after the gas tragedy, authorities were in a "state of inertia".
The high court bench had warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed.
"If everything is found to be fine, the waste will be incinerated within three months. Otherwise, it might take up to nine months," Singh told PTI on Wednesday morning.
Initially, some of the waste will be burnt at the waste disposal unit in Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be examined to find whether any harmful elements are left, Singh said.
The smoke from the incinerator will pass through special four-layer filters so that the surrounding air is not polluted, he added.
Once it is confirmed that no traces of toxic elements are left, the ash will be covered by a two-layer membrane and buried to ensure it does not come in contact with soil and water in any way.
A team of experts under the supervision of officials of the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board will carry out the process, Singh said.
Some local activists have claimed that 10 tons of Union Carbide waste was incinerated on a trial basis in Pithampur in 2015, after which the soil, underground water and water sources in surrounding villages became polluted.
But Singh rejected the claim, stating that the decision to dispose of the waste at Pithampur was taken only after the report of the 2015 test and all the objections were examined.
There would be no reason to worry, he said.
A large number of people had on Sunday taken out a protest march in Pithampur to oppose the disposal of Union Carbide waste in the city which has a population of about 1.75 lakh.
12 trucks carrying 337 tonnes of toxic waste from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, stored for 40 years, left at 9:05 p.m. for Pithampur near Indore. The waste is expected to arrive early on January 2nd, following a 250-km green corridor with heavy security.
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