N.R. Madhava Menon, chief adviser to the V.R. Krishna Iyer-headed Commission on the Rights and Welfare of Women and Children, has opposed the penal provision for violating the two-child norm in the commission's proposed Women's Code Bill.
“Invoking the penal provision is not appropriate,” Mr. Menon, a former member of the Law Commission of India and the founder of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, told The Hindu . “I do not agree with it.”
Mr. Menon, considered one of the top legal educators in India, said he had not seen the final draft of the report of the commission which was presented to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy by Mr. Krishna Iyer late last week. He had not been able to work with the commission over the past two months as he was busy otherwise.
The commission's recommendations relating to family planning, especially punishment for those who abet the violation of the two-child norm, have attracted bitter reactions. Some Churches and Muslim organisations have come out strongly against the recommendations.
Legal disqualification
The commission's report, which recommends enacting a law, The Kerala Women's Code Bill 2011, has called for declaring those who abet the violation of the family norm as ‘legally disqualified persons.' The proposed Bill says, “One year after this Code comes into force, any act or omission, movement, campaign or project which induces or tends to induce the violation of the family norm of two children as prescribed under this Chapter, or in any other manner abets the violation of the provisions, under this Chapter, shall be regarded as a ‘legally disqualified person' for the purpose of this Chapter. Abetment, in this Chapter, shall have the same meaning as under Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code.”
The commission, under Section 10 of its proposed Women's Code Bill, recommended: “ Prohibition of inducements for generation of more children than provided in Section 4 of this Chapter — (1) No person or institution shall use religion, region, sect, caste, cult or other ulterior inducements for the bearing of more children than permitted by Section 4; (2) Such child born in contravention of Sub-Section (1) shall, all the same, be entitled to all the rights of the child and shall not be subjected to any penalty, discrimination or disadvantage. Notwithstanding this immunity, the parents may for the purposes of this Chapter be subject to the legal disqualification specified under this Chapter.”
Rewards scheme
Noting that population explosion was neutralising the economic development of the country, Mr. Madhava Menon said birth control had always been a controversial issue in India. “But, I don't subscribe to the idea of awarding punishment for implementing population control,” he said. “Offering certain State privileges to those who follow the two-child norm and denying certain benefits to those who do not is a better option.” There should be a rewards system for those who adopt the family norm and those who do not agree to the norm should not be allowed to claim certain benefits and privileges provided by the government.
Mr. Madhava Menon said he supported facilitating legitimate abortion at hospitals. “There is nothing illegal about it,” he said. The commission has recommended that “Facilities for safe abortion will be made available free and through hospitals, health-care centres — governmental and private — as an obligation under the Public Health Code.”
Church objection
Kerala Catholic Bishops Council chairman Archbishop Andrews Thazhath is reported to have condemned the commission's birth-control recommendations as violating humanity and religious faith. Major Archbishop George Alancherry of the Syro-Malabar Church is reported to have commented that it was up to the parents to decide how many children they wanted and not the government. The Church would oppose the Women's Code Bill recommendation, he said.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has already said his government favoured extensive consultations on the report. The 10-member Krishna Iyer commission was appointed by the previous LDF government in September last year.
