Historic Women's Reservation Bill tabled: Key features

In a landmark move toward achieving gender equality in Indian politics, the Central govt is scheduled to table the Women's Reservation Bill, officially known as the Constitution 128th Amendment Act, 2023. This transformative bill which seeks to reshape the political landscape by reserving one-third of the total seats in the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, and the Delhi Assembly for women, has been accessed by Republic.

The key provisions of the Women's Reservation Bill are as follows:

Reservation for Women: The bill proposes that one-third of the total seats reserved under Clause (2) of Article 330 of the Constitution shall be reserved for women. This provision ensures that women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes are adequately represented in these reserved seats.

Direct Election Seats: Additionally, the bill stipulates that one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election to the House of the People (Lok Sabha), State Legislative Assemblies and Delhi Assembly shall be reserved for women. This includes seats reserved for women from the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. It is pertinent to mention that reservation will not be for Rajya Sabha or state Legislative Councils.

Effective Implementation: The provisions of the bill will come into effect only after a delimitation exercise is undertaken for this purpose. This exercise will occur after the relevant figures for the first census conducted following the commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2023, have been published. Importantly, these provisions will remain in effect for a period of fifteen years from such commencement.

Rotation of Reserved Seats: The bill also outlines the rotation of seats reserved for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. This rotation will take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation, as determined by Parliament through law.

Protection of Existing Representation: It's worth noting that the bill clarifies that these provisions will not affect any existing representation in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State, or the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi until their dissolution.

It is essential to underscore that while this bill marks a significant stride toward gender equality in politics, the implementation of the women's quota is unlikely to be in place in time for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 because it can only be possible after a delimitation of constituencies and the first Census after the law comes into force and it is unlikely that Census will take place before 2024 elections. Nevertheless, the Women's Reservation Bill represents a historic endeavour to empower women and facilitate their meaningful participation in India's democratic processes.