Supreme Court: laws penalising families with more than two children have lost relevance
The court cites India's falling fertility rate; in another order it stays a Madras HC move to take over a temple's administration.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that laws penalising families with more than two children have lost their relevance, given the steady fall in India's fertility rate.
Several states have used two-child norms over the years — for example as a condition for contesting local body elections or for certain government jobs and benefits. The court's observation adds weight to the argument that such rules no longer fit India's demographic reality.
India's total fertility rate has fallen below the replacement level in recent national surveys, and many states, particularly in the south, now worry more about ageing populations than about rapid growth.
In a separate matter the same day, the court stayed a Madras High Court order that would have taken over the administration of a temple.
