Karnataka Council ruckus: Chairman issues show cause notice to House Secretary
Bengaluru, Dec 18: Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman K Pratapachandra Shetty has issued a show cause notice to the Council Secretary for her alleged dereliction of duty and exceeding jurisdictional limits during the proceedings of the House on December 15 when it witnessed a ruckus over a no-confidence motion against him.
Asking the official to explain why action should not be initiated against her, he also issued an order to the secretary, K R Mahalakshmi, seeking a report on what all happened in the House from the beginning till he came and adjourned it and after his exit.
In the December 16 show cause notice, Shetty raised questions regarding her conduct being an officer holding administrative responsibilities of the proceedings and accused her of irresponsibility, dereliction of duty, and functioning by exceeding her jurisdictional limits.
The Council had witnessed a high drama on Tuesday with BJP-JDS and Congress members hurling abuses and pushing each other and Deputy Chairman being pulled down from the Chairman's seat, over a row pertaining to the no-confidence motion sought to be moved against Shetty.
Amid the pandemonium and chaos which many senior members termed as "black mark" and "unprecedented" in the Council's over a century old history, it was adjourned sine-die within minutes after it met for the day.
"The happenings on December 15 including- ruling party members restricting my entry to the House as its Chairman and their conduct against the rules has come under intense criticism in the media, and this has brought disrespect to the legislative council and its traditions which has over a century old history," Shetty said.
He sought a report on the happenings in the Council in order to provide an authentic explanation as the head of the house in response to the criticisms about the ruckus.
The Chairman said on viewing the video recording of the house proceedings of that day, he came across several instances of "dereliction of duty" by the secretary she aided the Deputy Chairman, who had occupied the chair "against rules", by providing him some documents.
This was an evidence of dereliction of duty by the Secretary as an officer holding administrative responsibilities of the proceedings, he contended.
He asked the Secretary to provide an explanation within 48 hours as to why action should not be initiated against her under the Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules.
The ruckus in the council followed the attempt by the ruling BJP and JD(S) to take up the no-confidence motion against Shetty, despite it not finding mention in the day's agenda.
Shetty had rejected the notice for the motion citing procedural lapses and pointing out that no specific charges were made against him.
However, insisting on going ahead with it, BJP and JD(S) had attempted to take up the motion by having the Deputy Chairman on the chair.
In their defence both parties had said Shetty cannot hold the proceedings as Chairman, as the no-confidence was against him and that he did not enjoy the support of majority members of the House.
This was resisted strongly by the Congress, resulting in unruly scenes with members from both sides hurling abuses and pushing each other and Deputy Chairman being pulled down from the Chairman's seat.
Shetty was elected as the Chairman of the council during the Congress-JD(S) coalition government.
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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.
