India’s Supreme Court is questioning the continued validity of laws that disqualify people from contesting elections if they have more than two children. The court links the issue to reproductive autonomy under Article 21 and the right to participate in the democratic process, saying the justification for such restrictions may no longer fit current demographic realities.

The observations arise from a challenge brought by Mangala Bhimrao Ingle, a former sarpanch in Maharashtra, who was barred from contesting after the birth of her third child under the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act. The matter had been upheld through administrative and court proceedings before reaching the Supreme Court. In its latest step, the Supreme Court decides to revisit earlier precedent, referring the issue back to a larger bench for reconsideration of the landmark 2003 decision in Javed v State of Haryana.

Several outlets highlight a key contextual change: India’s total fertility rate has declined from about 3 in 2003 to around 1.9, below the replacement level of 2.1. This shift, reported across the coverage, frames the court’s doubt about whether population-control goals still apply in the same way today.