NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday junked a plea seeking guidelines to control population explosion in the country.
In the plea, it was stated that a population explosion was more dangerous than a bomb explosion. “Without implementing effective population control measures, healthy India, literate India, prosperous India campaigns would not succeed,” the plea had stated.
Turning down the plea, a bench of Justices SK Kaul and MM Sundresh remarked that preparing policies was the government's job.
"How do we get into enacting legislation? Ultimately you want a law on the two-child norm. It’s ultimately for the legislature to do, let them. We’ll examine it then... Population isn’t something which will stop on one fine day. We’re reaching a stabilizing point. What can courts do in this? It's for the government to examine these issues. Is this an issue which we should entertain?" the bench further asked.
The petition sought directions to control population explosion under the provisions of the 24th recommendation given by the National Commission to review the working of the Constitution (NCRWC). Alternatively, the court also sought directions from the Law Commission of India to suggest ways to control the population and prepare a comprehensive report on it within three months.
The pleas had further sought for directing Centres and States to declare the First Sunday of every month as 'Population Control Day (Like Polio Day) in order to spread awareness on the population explosion and provide condoms vaccines contraceptive pills etc. to EWS and BPL parents
Earlier, the Health Ministry had filed an affidavit wherein they had said that they were against coercing couples into having a certain number of children in a bid to curb population explosion.