New Delhi, 8 August: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Central Government on the petition of religious leader Devkinandan Thakur seeking to enact a law on population control. The court will also hear this issue along with the already pending application of lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay.
The petition stated that the Population Control Act is the need of the hour to ensure the right of people to access to clean air, water, food, health and employment. After looking at the policies of population control in other developed countries, the Law Commission should give suggestions for the country.
In February 2021, the central government had said that people cannot be forced to do family planning as it would lead to distortion in terms of population. The union Health Ministry has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that the Ministry 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 had told the Supreme Court that any compulsion to give birth to a certain number of children would be harmful.
Upadhyay had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court which was rejected it saying that it is the job of the government to formulate a policy on population control. Upadhyay has challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.
The petition said that the growing population is the biggest reason behind increasing crime and lack of jobs in the country as well as increasing the burden on resources. 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. The commission has talked about making a law for population control under Article 47A of the Constitution.
The petition stated 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. The petition says that the court should direct the central government to enact a two-children law. Including 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. Twenty percent of the country’s population does not have Aadhaar card. There are crores of Rohingya and Bangladeshis living in the country. It has been said in the petition that without population control, Swachh Bharat and Beti Bachao Abhiyan cannot be successful.
