The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Centre regarding a plea seeking to set two-child norm as a means to control population the country. The next date of hearing is on September 3.
The petition, heard by a bench consisting of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Brijesh Sethi, asked the Centre about the next course of action raised in the petition.
On Tuesday, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, was moved before the Delhi High Court, seeking directions to the government to ascertain the feasibility of implementing the recommendation of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) headed by Justice Venkatchaliah.
According to the petition, the NCRWC proposed the formulation of Population Control Law under the Constitution's Article 47 (A) which is one of the directive principles of state policy that hold improvement in the level of nutrition, the standard of living and public health as its primary duty.
"Till now, the Constitution has been amended 125 times, hundreds of new laws have been enacted, but population control law, utterly required for country, is not made."
The petition also sought an order from the court declaring that the two-child norm to be set as a criterion for government jobs, aids, and subsidies. It was suggested that statutory rights such as the right to vote, right to contest, right to property, right to free shelter, right to free legal aid will be withdrawn if a person fails to comply with the norm.
Upadhyay in his plea also claims that the population of India has marched ahead of China, as about 20 per cent of the population does not have Aadhaar and therefore not accounted for, as well as crores of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis living illegally in the country.
Citing population explosion as the root cause of corruption, he also claimed that it is a contributory factor behind heinous crimes like rapes, domestic violence, etc.
He also said the government should be asked to declare the first Sunday of every month as Health Day instead of Polio Day to spread awareness on population growth. Provision of contraceptive pills, condoms, and vaccines to economically weaker sections and below poverty line (BPL) families should also be included, he added.
Upadhyay also claimed that without population control, campaigns such as Clean India and Save the Girl Child would not succeed.
