Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Monday, March 3, challenging the two-child norm for candidates contesting elections in Panchayat Raj institutions.
The bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara, imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner, Avula Nagaraju, for filing the plea under the guise of public interest.
The petitioner argued that Section 21(3) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, which disqualifies individuals with more than two children from contesting elections for posts like sarpanches, should be abolished.
His counsel cited declining fertility rates and referenced China’s shift to a three-child policy as reasons to reconsider the law.
HC cites Supreme Court’s precedent
However, the court noted that the Supreme Court had previously upheld the two-child norm and emphasized that such policy decisions fall under the legislature’s purview, not the judiciary’s.
The bench further observed that the petition seemed motivated by personal grievances, as Nagaraju himself has three children.
Consequently, it directed him to pay the fine to the High Court Legal Services Authority.
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