Supreme Court to get two new judges today

Supreme Court to get two new judges today

The Supreme Court will get two new judges today (Friday). According to the HS, Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and advocate KV Vishwanathan will be administered an oath by the Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.

The names of both were recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium. Two days later, President Droupadi Murmu ordered the appointment of both of them as judges of the Supreme Court. After their swearing in, the total sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court will be 34.

In another developmenet, the Supreme Court yesterday issued a notice to the ED while hearing the bail plea of former Delhi government minister Satyendar Jain, jailed in a money laundering case. Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Jain, cited Jain’s poor health and said that Jain had lost 35 kg in weight in jail.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had rejected the bail plea of Satyendar Jain on 6 April. The High Court had said that Satyendar Jain is an influential person and he has the ability to influence the witnesses.

The ED had opposed the bail plea in the Delhi High Court, saying that if Jain is granted bail, there could be a threat to the lives of the witnesses in the case.

In yet other development, the apex Court yesterday lifted the ban on ‘The Kerala Story’ by the West Bengal government. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also asked the Tamil Nadu government to provide security to cinema halls showing the film. No pressure should be made on the theatre owners. The court said that the producers should also put a disclaimer that the figure of missing 32,000 girls is not confirmed.

During the hearing, the West Bengal government said that apart from hate speech, facts have been manipulated in this film. Due to this, the issue of communal disharmony and law and order may arise in the state. This information has been given by the intelligence system of the state. The ban on the film is a policy decision based on intelligence inputs. The ban has not violated the fundamental rights of the petitioners. The financial loss suffered by the petitioner cannot be termed as an infringement of fundamental rights.

The Tamil Nadu government had said that the state government had not put any restrictions on the release of The Kerala Story. The argument given by the film producer about the situation like ban on showing the film in the state is wrong. The film was released in 19 multiplexes on 05 May. Due to the decrease in the number of viewers, the cinema owners themselves decided to stop the screening of the film. Adequate security arrangements have been made for all the cinema halls screening the film in the state. The Director General of Police had directed all the Commissioners of Police and District Superintendents of Police to provide adequate security to all the cinema halls showing the film and to the people coming to watch the film.

The filmmaker had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the ban on The Kerala Story in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. While hearing this petition on May 12, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Governments of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. During the hearing, the court had asked the government of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu that when the film is running all over the country then why is it being stopped in your state.