Rajya Sabha Passes Bill to Raise Supreme Court Judges' Strength to 38

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved the bill to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38 with a voice vote. The passed bill will replace the ordinance that increased the number of judges in the SC. Since it was a money bill, it was returned to Lok Sabha after passing. A brief discussion took place on the bill at 2 pm. While some of the members tried to raise the issue of alleged use of force on protesting students demanding a reply from Union home minister, deputy chairman Harivansh instructed them to speak on the bill. Replying on the bill, Union minister of state for law and justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the bill is a step to improve the judicial efficiency and it will help reduce pendency of the cases. The house was adjourned for Thursday after the bill was passed. As the house convened in the morning, it couldn't function because of protests by Congress, TMC and other Opposition parties demanding a statement from PM Narendra Modi on donation theft in Ram Temple.