CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has dismissed an intra-court appeal filed by Maheswar Jena, upholding the termination of his membership from a gram panchayat on the ground of disqualification for having more than two children, as mandated under Section 25(1)(v) of the Odisha Gram Panchayats Act, 1964.
A division bench comprising Justice Dixit Krishna Shripad and Justice Chittaranjan Dash affirmed the order of a single judge dated December 5, 2025, which had rejected Jena’s challenge to the termination. The court held that the case was a “text book” instance attracting the disqualification clause, leaving no scope for the protective proviso to apply.
The bench noted that the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 introduced Entry 20A - “Population Control & Family Planning” - into the Concurrent List with effect from January 3, 1977, underscores the seriousness of population control as a policy concern.
The proviso to Section 25(1)(v) was introduced with effect from April 18, 1994, by which time the appellant had already fathered four children. As the panchayat elections were held in 2022, the provision had been in force for nearly 18 years, making the disqualification unavoidable.
While dismissing the appeal, the bench went beyond the individual dispute to express grave concern over India’s population growth. Referring to UNFPA India Policy 2023-2027, the bench observed that Odisha is among four priority states for addressing population growth, with India’s population projected to rise to 1.7 billion by 2050.
Highlighting lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, the bench observed that excessive population undermines socio-welfare schemes and diminishes the “value & dignity of individuals”. Calling for urgent action, the court said measures taken so far were far from satisfactory and urged constitutional institutions and civil society to act.