New Delhi/Alive News: The Supreme Court has questioned the relevance of laws that disqualify people from contesting elections for having more than two children. It said India’s falling fertility rate has weakened the argument behind such restrictions.
A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe referred its 2003 judgment upholding Haryana’s two-child policy to a larger bench for reconsideration.
The court also cancelled the disqualification of Mangala Bhimrao, a former sarpanch of Kakoda Gram Panchayat in Maharashtra. She had lost her position after the birth of her third child under the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959.
India’s Fertility Rate Falls to 1.9
The court noted that India’s total fertility rate has declined from 3 in 2003 to 1.9, below the replacement level of 2.1. It warned that this trend could increase the elderly population and reduce the share of working-age people in the coming years.
Justice Narasimha observed that laws introduced to control population growth had lost their relevance due to changing demographic conditions.
The bench also questioned whether the number of children a person has should affect their right to contest elections. It said such restrictions could limit political participation and interfere with reproductive autonomy under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Six States Still Have the Rule
According to the information presented before the court, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttarakhand continue to enforce the two-child condition. Seven states have withdrawn it, while 15 states do not have such a policy.
In 2003, the Supreme Court upheld Haryana’s two-child rule in the Javed versus State of Haryana case. That decision will now be reconsidered by a larger bench.
