Justice Joseph takes oath as third Supreme Court judge
New Delhi, Aug 7 : Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice Vineet Saran and Justice K.M. Joseph on Tuesday were sworn in as Supreme Court judges in the same order of seniority as notified by the government, unfazed by the row over placing Justice Joseph as the junior-most among them.
The three were administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Dipak Misra at a function in the apex court.
On Monday, senior judges of the court met Chief Justice Misra to convey their dissatisfaction over the government's decision to place Justice Joseph in the third place for the swearing in.
They maintained that he should be the senior among the three as his name was the first to be recommended for the top court and was re-recommended after the government had raised objections.
Justice Joseph apparently had ruffled the feathers of those in the establishment with his judgement in the Uttarakhand High Court in which he had set aside imposition of President's rule in the state in 2016. The Supreme Court had upheld the judgement.
Government sources, however, maintained that the seniority of judges is based on an all-India basis and not by the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium.
Justice Joseph was recommended for elevation way back on January 10. His recommendation was reiterated on July 17 after the government had returned it for reconsideration by the Supreme Court collegium.
With three new judges joining, the strength of the top court judges is now 28 as against the sanctioned strength of 31.
It is for the first time that the Supreme Court has three sitting women judges -- Justice R. Banumathi, Justice Indu Malhotra and Justice Indira Banerjee.
Justice Banerjee is the seventh woman judge of the Supreme Court, the first being Justice Fatima Beevi, followed by Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Ranjana Desai, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Indu Malhotra.
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Ethanol plant GM, junior shot dead in UP's Budaun; blacklisted vendor suspect
Budaun (UP) (PTI): Two officials of an ethanol plant were shot dead on Thursday, allegedly by a blacklisted vendor, officials said.
The killings took place at a plant of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) in Sejni village under the Musajhag Police Station area, they said.
Plant's general manager, Sudhir Kumar Gupta, and assistant general manager, Harshit Mishra, were shot dead in the attack.
District Magistrate Avnish Rai said the alleged shooter, Ajay Pratap Singh alias Ramu, a local, was once a vendor at the plant.
Sources said Gupta had recently terminated some employees and blacklisted vendors whose work was not satisfactory. Singh was among those removed.
Since the termination, Singh had been upset with the general manager and had threatened him several times, they said.
He once attacked Gupta's car, following which a case was registered against him at Dataganj Kotwali Police Station.
According to preliminary information, Singh came to the factory around 2 pm on Thursday and managed to cross the security gate before entering a conference room where Gupta was present.
He allegedly opened fire at him, and when Mishra intervened, he fired at him also. Both died on the spot, officials said.
