With a total of 1.349 billion people, India has the second largest population in the world, which, according to the data provided by the worldometer index, is increasing every second.
Studies have indicated that although there are many reasons for the increase in the rates, including the current unrest between various groups leading to absurd statements by political representatives, one of the major reasons is the lowered age of men and women, as has been provided under the enactments.
While the country has been often targeted for not being able to successfully implement the child marriage prohibition laws, there exists another difficulty, which has been observed by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. In the petition, filed in the Hon’ble Supreme Court, he has respectfully submitted that Population explosion was a growing menace to fundamental rights, and one of the steps to check this was to raise the minimum age for marriage.
With this petition, the long shadowed issue has been raised that whether the age old law enunciating the minimum age of a man and a women for being eligible to legally be married, has a significant role to play in determining the rate at which the population of our country is increasing.
It is a proven fact that we are just a minute difference away from being the largest populated country in the world and it is also a proven observation that this rate is not something to be proud of. With a majority of the population living in slums and being under the ‘below poverty line’, there is a desperate need for stringent and efficient measures for controlling the population of the nation, which will in turn, lead to a future where laws can be properly enforced, thereby raising the GDP and helping the the improving of the economy.
Therefore, this petition might be able to raise the various important points that need a thorough discussion. The plea has been listed before a bench, to be headed by Chief Justice Deepak Mishra.