PIL for population control in India: Delhi HC seeks Centre reply

New Delhi: Taking a PIL into consideration Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response of the Centre on measures to control the country's rising population on the grounds that it was the root cause of rise in crimes, pollution and dearth of resources and jobs.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Brijesh Sethi issued notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Law Commission of India seeking their stand on the plea which was listed for hearing next on September 3.

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The petition by BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who is also a lawyer, has sought implementation of the recommendations for population control made by the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) headed by Justice Venkatchaliah.

"The NCRWC, after making immense efforts for two years and elaborate discussion, had suggested addition of Article 47A in the Constitution and formulation of Population Control Law.

"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, though it will curtail more than 50 per cent problems of India," the petition has said.

It has also sought an order from the court declaring that the Centre "may set two-child norm, as a criteria for government jobs, aids and subsidies, and, may withdraw statutory rights viz. right to vote, right to contest, right to property, right to free shelter, right to free legal aid", for not complying with it.

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The plea has claimed that the population of India has "marched ahead" of China, as about 20 per cent the population does not have Aadhaar and therefore, is not accounted for, and there are also crores of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis living illegally in the country.

Upadhyay, in his plea, has also claimed that "population explosion is also the root cause of corruption", apart from being a contributory factor behind heinous crimes like rapes, domestic violence, etc.

He has further argued that without population control, campaigns like Clean India and Save the Girl Child would not succeed.

He has said, in his petition, that by the time the government provides housing to the over two crore homeless persons, the numbers of such individuals would have risen to 10 crore.

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(With Agency Inputs)