New Delhi, March 30: Advocate and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Upadhyay has demanded an early hearing from the Supreme Court (SC) on the demand for Population Control Law.
Upadhyay told a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana that the Supreme Court has so far only issued notice to the Center but the subject is in the Concurrent List. Notices should also be issued to the states. Then the Chief Justice assured to list the matter for early hearing.
In February 2021, the central government had said that families cannot compel people to plan, as it would lead to distortion in terms of population.
The Union Health Ministry has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that it is against the imposition of forced family planning on the people of the country. The central government said that the family welfare program in the country is voluntary, in which the couple can decide the size of their family and adopt the methods of family planning as per their wish.
The central government told the Supreme Court that any compulsion to give birth to a certain number of children would be harmful.
Ashwini Upadhyay had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, which was rejected by the High Court.
The High Court had said that it is the job of the government to make a policy on population control. Ashwini Upadhyay has challenged the decision of the Delhi High Court to dismiss the petition in the Supreme Court.
The petition said that the growing population is the biggest reason behind the increasing burden on resources along with increasing crime and lack of jobs in the country. The petition has sought implementation of the measures recommended in the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, headed by Justice Venkatachaliah.
The commission had said in its recommendations that there is a need to make laws for population control in the Constitution. The commission has talked about making a law for population control under Article 47A of the Constitution.
It has been said in the petition that so far 125 changes have been made in the constitution, hundreds of new laws have been made but no laws have been made on population control. If population control law is made then it will eliminate half of the country’s problems.
It was said in the petition that the court should direct the central government to make a law for two children. It has been said in the petition that guidelines should be issued to make provisions for deprivation of right to vote, right to property and many other rights to those who have more than two children.
It has been said in the petition that the population of India has exceeded the population of China. 20% of the country’s population does not have Aadhaar. There are crores of Rohingya and Bangladeshi people living in the country. It has been said in the petition that without population control, Swachh Bharat and Beti Bachao Abhiyan cannot be successful.
