PM Modi to virtually inaugurate Kochi-Mangaluru GAIL pipeline
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi would virtually inaugurate the Kochi-Mangaluru GAIL pipeline on January 5, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday.
Vijayan told reporters here that it was a matter of happinessthat the Prime Minister had agreed to launch the natural gas pipeline project.
"Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan called yesterday. He informed that the Prime Minister consented to virtually inaugurate the Kochi-Mangaluru GAIL pipeline on January 5," he said.
It was a matter of happiness that a project, believed to never materialise, was finally ready and the Prime Minister himself was inaugurating it, the Chief Minister added.
The 444-km long pipeline was launched in 2009 at an estimated cost of Rs 2,915 crore and was to be commissioned in 2014.
But opposition on safety and commercial grounds wherein the land price was the main hurdle, both from political parties and the public, had left the project hanging fire.
This had led to the project cost nearly doubling to over Rs 5,750 crore.
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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The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.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.
