Panchayat Polls 2-Child Norm: Giving Third Child For Adoption Does Not Exempt Candidate, Says Supreme Court

New Delhi, October 25: The Supreme Court on Wednesday, in its observation on a case related to the number of children permissible for a person contesting panchayat polls said that the maximum number of children allowed for a person holding the post of sarpanch or member in a panchayat is two. The apex court also ruled that giving the third child for adoption also makes the member ineligible from contesting or holding the post of a member or sarpanch in the Panchayat. Jammu and Kashmir: State Election Commission Announces Nine Phase Panchayat Polls.

A report in English daily The Times of India, mentioned that a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph said that the Panchayat Raj Act bars any person from having three 'live births' in the family.

The bench also explained how the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act is different from the Panchayat Raj Act. While the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act allows giving the excess children in adoption for regulating births in the family, the Panchayat Raj Act is solely to bar the number of births going above two children or having three 'live births' in the family for a candidate contesting or holding a position in the panchayats.

Interestingly, the petitioner in the case had challenged a Odisha High Court order which had disqualified him from holding the post of a sarpanch in the year 2002 as he had more than two children. When the petitioner's lawyer argued that some people have twins or triplets and whether they would be barred from contesting in the Panchayat elections, the court observed that it would take a stand on that matter when a petition to its effect is brought ahead of the court.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 25, 2018 02:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).