Supreme Court issues notice in PIL to control Population explosion

The Supreme Court today issued notice in the plea filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay to control the population explosion in India. The plea highlights the problem of population explosion, terming the same as being more potent than a bomb explosion.

The Special Leave Petition was file before the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court dismissed Upadhyay's plea in September last year.

Upadhyay has now challenged the dismissal before the Apex Court, contending that the High Court had failed to understand that population explosion is the root cause for the violation of various rights under the Indian Constitution.

"... the High Court has failed to appreciate that right to clean air, right to drinking water, right to health, right to peaceful sleep, right to shelter, right to livelihood and right to education guaranteed under Articles 21 and 21A, can’t be secured to all citizens without controlling the population explosion."

He goes on to contend,

"It is also the root cause of crowd in trains, police stations, tehsils, jails and Courts. It is the root cause of theft, dacoity and snatching, domestic violence, physical-mental harassment of women and separatism, fanaticism, stone pelting etc", Upadhyay adds further.

It is also argued that the population explosion problem also contributes to the rising violence against women and that it is the reason for India's pitiable rankings at the International level for various indices of human development.

While arguing on the pitfalls of not following a two-child policy, Upadhyay's petition also makes reference to the two-child policy having been adopted by Lord Ram.

"Thousands of years before, Lord Ram had initiated the policy of Ham Do - Hamare- Do, and for giving clear message to common man, he along with his brothers Laxman, Bharat and Shatrughan, followed “Ham Do–Hamare Do", though, problem of population was not so dangerous."

It is contended further that,

"Many Legislators, intellectuals, sociologists, environmentalists, educationists, judges and philosophers agree that population explosion is the root cause of more than 50% problems."

In this backdrop is pointed out that while recommendations for a population control policy was handed over by the National Commission to review the working of the Constitution (NCRWC) as far back as 2002, the Government is yet to act on the same.

In view of these, among other, grounds, Upadhyay has now urged the Supreme Court allow his petition against the Delhi High Court's judgment rejecting his plea and to pass necessary orders for relief in response to his plea.

[Read the Order]

[Read the Petition]