CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has upheld the disqualification of a member of management committee of a cooperative housing society for having more than two children, ruling that the statutory restriction is a legitimate measure to promote population control and can be enforced by the registrar of Cooperative Societies through due inquiry.
A division bench of Justices Krishna S Dixit and Chittaranjan Dash dismissed an intra-court appeal filed by Biswaranjan Mohanty against a single judge’s January 8, 2025 order, refusing to interfere with his disqualification from the membership of management committee of Capital Cooperative Housing Limited, Bhubaneswar.
Mohanty had challenged a November 19, 2024 notice issued by the deputy registrar of Cooperative Societies (DRCS), which declared him disqualified under section 28(3)(p) of the Orissa Cooperative Societies Act, 1962, on the ground that he had fathered three children, exceeding the statutory limit of two.
The bench observed, “This disqualification is by operation of law. However, the Registrar of the Societies has to hold a due enquiry as to foundational facts, with the participation of the stakeholders.”
Emphasising the larger public interest behind the provision, the judges noted that unchecked population growth poses serious environmental, social and economic challenges, while quoting British philosopher Bertrand Russell, “Population explosion is more dangerous than hydrogen bomb.”
The court also referred to the Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1976, which inserted “Population Control and Family Planning” into the Concurrent List, enabling both the Centre and states to legislate on the subject. It said section 28(3)(p) of the Cooperative Societies Act represents a positive measure to check the population growth in the country.
Rejecting the appellant’s contention that the Act does not specifically empower any authority to enforce the provision, the bench held that the registrar, as the statutory authority responsible for implementing the Act,necessarily possesses such power. It noted that the deputy registrar was legally competent to exercise the registrar’s powers under section 3 of the Act.
Finding no merit in the appeal, the division bench affirmed the single judge’s order and upheld Mohanty’s disqualification from the management committee of the cooperative society.