The Supreme Court issued a notice to the central government, all states, and union territories. It sought their response within four weeks on a petition demanding 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan issued the notice after hearing the petition filed by Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Dr Jaya Thakur.
The petition challenges the validity of the law introduced by the central government under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023.
Earlier, the Supreme Court dismissed Dr Thakur’s petition, stating that she filed it under Article 32 of the Constitution.
The court noted that her petition challenged a bill that had already become an Act.
Following that dismissal, Dr Thakur filed a fresh petition challenging the enacted law instead of the bill.
Parliament passed the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, also known as the Women’s Reservation Act, in September 2023.
Lawmakers approved it during a special session dedicated to women’s representation.
The law reserves 33 per cent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies. It also includes the Delhi Legislative Assembly under this reservation.
Government sources stated that officials will implement the law after completing the delimitation process following the next national census.
The Constitution (128th Amendment) Act, 2023, specifies that authorities will implement the reservation after the delimitation process begins.
They will base the delimitation on data from the first census conducted after the Act’s enactment.
Under the new law, 33 per cent of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, and the Delhi Assembly will be reserved for women.
One-third of these reserved seats will be allocated to women belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Scheduled Tribes (ST).
This means that SC and ST women will receive representation within the 33 per cent quota, not through a separate category.
However, the reservation will not extend to the Rajya Sabha or the state legislative councils.
The law also excludes Other Backward Classes (OBC) from this reservation framework.
The Supreme Court will now review the responses from the Centre and states before taking the next step in the matter.
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