New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the constitution of the 22nd Law Commission which advises the government on complex legal issues.

The term of the previous law panel had ended on August 31 last year.

With the cabinet approval, the law ministry will now notify the new panel, which will have a term of three years.

The panel will have a full-time chairperson, four full-time members (including a member secretary), and law and legislative secretaries in the law ministry as ex-officio members.

"It will also have not more than five part-time members," an official statement said.

Usually, a retired Supreme Court judge or chief justice of a high court heads the Commission.

The Commission was originally constituted in 1955 and is re-constituted every three years.

The various law commissions have so far submitted 277 reports.

The 21st Law Commission, under Justice B S Chauhan (retd), had submitted reports and working papers on key issues such as simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies and a uniform civil code. While this Commission had supported simultaneous polls, it had said time was not ripe for a common code.

In 2015, a proposal was mooted to make the law panel into a permanent body either through an Act of Parliament or an executive order (resolution of the Union Cabinet). The move was, however, shelved after the Prime Minister's Office felt that the present system should continue.

In 2010 too, the then UPA government had prepared a draft cabinet note to give statutory status to the Law Commission and the law ministry had mooted to bring the Law Commission of India Bill, 2010. But the idea was again shelved.

 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Bhubaneswar/Berhampur, Dec 2: A 45-year-old theatre actor playing the role of a demon in Ramayana was arrested after he ripped the stomach of a live pig on stage and ate its meat in Odisha's Ganjam district, police said.

The incident sparked a statewide outrage and was condemned in the assembly on Monday.

Besides the actor, identified as Bimbadhar Gouda, one of the organisers of the play that took place in Ralab village in Hinjili police station area on November 24 was also arrested for cruelty to animals and violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Ruling BJP members Babu Singh and Sanatan Bijuli strongly condemned the incident in the assembly.

Action was taken against the duo after videos of the incident went viral on social media, with animal rights activists also condemning it and calling for strong action against the accused.

"We are also looking for the persons who displayed snakes in the theatre. They will also be arrested soon," Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sunny Khokar said.

He, however, did not disclose the name of the arrested organiser.

The state government, in a guideline issued in August last year, prohibited the public display of snakes, including by certified snake handlers.

"We have registered a case against the theatre actor who killed the pig and ate its meat in the theatre, and arrested him," said Hinjili police station inspector-in-charge Srinibas Sethy said.

To attract audience, the theatre group displayed snakes while a demon ripped the stomach of a live pig with a knife, which was tied to a ceiling of the stage and ate some of the organs in full public view, he said.

A group of the villagers organised the theatre on the occasion of Kanjianal Yatra in the village.