The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023[1]
Parliament of India
Long title An Act further to amend the Constitution of India.
Territorial extent	India
Enacted by	Lok Sabha
Enacted	20 September 2023
Enacted by	Rajya Sabha
Enacted	21 September 2023
Assented to by	President Droupadi Murmu
Assented to	28 September 2023
Date of expiry	15 years after enactment
Legislative history
First chamber: Lok Sabha
Bill title	The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023[2]
Introduced by	Minister of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal
Introduced	19 September 2023
Passed	20 September 2023
Voting summary	454 voted for 2 voted against None abstained
Second chamber: Rajya Sabha
Bill title	The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023[2]
Received from the Lok Sabha	20 September 2023
Passed	21 September 2023
Voting summary	214 voted for None voted against None abstained
Summary
To reserve, as nearly as maybe, 33 percent of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
Keywords
Women reservation, 33 percent reservation
Status: Current legislation

Part of a series on the
Constitution of India
Preamble
Parts I ∙ II ∙ III ∙ IV ∙ IVA ∙ V ∙ VI ∙ VII VIII ∙ IX ∙ IXA ∙ IXB ∙ X ∙ XI ∙ XII ∙ XIII ∙ XIV XIVA ∙ XV ∙ XVI ∙ XVII ∙ XVIII ∙ XIX ∙ XX ∙ XXI XXII
Schedules First ∙ Second ∙ Third ∙ Fourth ∙ Fifth Sixth ∙ Seventh ∙ Eighth ∙ Ninth Tenth ∙ Eleventh ∙ Twelfth
Appendices I ∙ II ∙ III ∙ IV ∙ V
Amendments List ∙ 1 ∙ 2 ∙ 3 ∙ 4 ∙ 5 ∙ 6 ∙ 7 ∙ 8 ∙ 9 ∙ 10 ∙ 11 ∙ 12 ∙ 13 ∙ 14 ∙ 15 ∙ 16 ∙ 17 ∙ 18 ∙ 19 ∙ 20 ∙ 21 ∙ 22 ∙ 23 ∙ 24 ∙ 25 ∙ 26 ∙ 27 ∙ 28 ∙ 29 ∙ 30 ∙ 31 ∙ 32 ∙ 33 ∙ 34 ∙ 35 ∙ 36 ∙ 37 ∙ 38 ∙ 39 ∙ 40 ∙ 41 ∙ 42 ∙ 43 ∙ 44 ∙ 45 ∙ 46 ∙ 47 ∙ 48 ∙ 49 ∙ 50 ∙ 51 ∙ 52 ∙ 53 ∙ 54 ∙ 55 ∙ 56 ∙ 57 ∙ 58 ∙ 59 ∙ 60 ∙ 61 ∙ 62 ∙ 63 ∙ 64 ∙ 65 ∙ 66 ∙ 67 ∙ 68 ∙ 69 ∙ 70 ∙ 71 ∙ 72 ∙ 73 ∙ 74 ∙ 75 ∙ 76 ∙ 77 ∙ 78 ∙ 79 ∙ 80 ∙ 81 ∙ 82 ∙ 83 ∙ 84 ∙ 85 ∙ 86 ∙ 87 ∙ 88 ∙ 89 ∙ 90 ∙ 91 ∙ 92 ∙ 93 ∙ 94 ∙ 95 ∙ 96 ∙ 97 ∙ 98 ∙ 99 ∙ 100 ∙ 101 ∙ 102 ∙ 103 ∙ 104 ∙ 105 ∙ 106
Related topics Union List State List Concurrent List Judicial review Basic structure doctrine Uniform civil code

The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, popularly known as the Women's Reservation Bill, 2023 (IAST: Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam), was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 September 2023 during the special session of Parliament.^[3] This legislation seeks to allocate 33 percent of the seats in the directly elected Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women.^[4]

The bill is the possible culmination of a legislative debate that had been ongoing for 27 years, including the lapsed Women's Reservation Bill (2010), due to the lack of consensus among political parties. The bill was the first that was considered in the new parliament building.^[5] On 20 September 2023, Lok Sabha passed the bill with 454 votes in favour and two against.^[6] The Rajya Sabha passed the bill unanimously with 214 votes in favour and none against, on 21 September 2023.^[7] President Murmu signed the bill on 28 September 2023, and the gazette notification was also published the same day, which made it clear that the reservation will come into force soon after the first delimitation (frozen until 2026).

History of women reservation bill

On 9 December 1946, the inaugural session of the Constituent Assembly of India was convened at the Constitution Hall, presently the Central Hall of the Old Parliament House. Notably, Sarojini Naidu was the only woman in the entire gathering, sitting in the first row of attendees facing the presidential dais. The matter of quota for women was previously deliberated upon in the years 1996, 1997, and 1998; however, it was unable to be pursued further due to the dissolution of Lok Sabha's or the absence of consensus among political parties. In recent decades, there has been growing apprehension regarding the underrepresentation of women in legislative bodies, despite their constituting more than half of the global population. This democratic deficiency poses a significant hindrance to the attainment of rapid economic development. Consequently, it becomes increasingly imperative to accord utmost importance to this issue, aiming to fortify a political decision-making process that is participatory, responsive, inclusive, equitable, and accountable. The implementation of the Women's Reservation Bill, also known as the Constitution 108th Amendment Bill of 2008, is imperative for contemporary Indian society.^[8]

This legislation has encountered six unsuccessful attempts to get cleared since its initial introduction in 1996. Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2010 had suggested the Women Reservation Bill should not be enacted due to its potential implication of encouraging male parliamentarians to engage in wolf-whistling towards their female colleagues.^[9]

Statistics

The 2023 composition of the Lok Sabha reveals underrepresentation of women Members of Parliament (MPs), constituting less than 15 percent of its members. Similarly, this gender disparity is stronger in state assemblies including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura and Puducherry, where the representation of women falls below 10 percent.^[10] The presence of female MPs in the Lok Sabha has exhibited a gradual enhancement, progressing from a mere 5% in the 1st Lok Sabha to an increase of 14% in the current 17th Lok Sabha. A total of 716 female candidates participated in the 2019 general election, from which 78 women Members of Parliament have been successfully elected to serve in the 17th Lok Sabha. This is about a quarter higher than for the previous election in 2014, where 62 women MPs were elected.^[11]

The bill introduced by the Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal on the day-one of business in the newly built Parliament House aims to increase the number of Women Parliamentarians to 181.^[12] The 2023 Lok Sabha comprises a total of 542 members, of which 78 are female members. Similarly, the present Rajya Sabha consists of 224 members, with 24 being female members. A total of 102 women parliamentarians are serving as of 2023.^[13]

On 20 September 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed during the discussion on the Women's Reservation Bill that census and the delimitation exercise will take place after the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.^[14][15][16]

Provisions

The proposed legislation defines the 33% women reservation to continue for 15 years. Additionally, it mandates that a quota for individuals belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes be established within the reserved seats designated for women in Parliament and Legislative assembly.^[17]

Implementation

The reservation was defined to be implemented once a new census is published and the delimitation exercise is completed. Union Home Minister Shah said in the House that a census will be carried out to implement the women's reservation bill, right after the elections. He also said that the next government will carry out the delimitation soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, brushing aside the apprehensions of a delay in the bill's implementation.^[18] The process of delimitation entails the revision of constituency boundaries pertaining to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, with the aim of accurately reflecting increase in population distribution. To be fully ratified, the bill needs ratification from a minimum of 50% of the states. The constitutional reasoning for requiring ratification by the states is its potential impact of the bill on the rights of states.^[17]

Parliamentary Debates

Reactions

Parliamentarians of INC proposed an unsuccessful amendment to the bill with the aim of facilitating the implementation of women's reservation in the year 2024. M. Thambidurai of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in an expression of contentment conveyed his satisfaction on passage of this women's reservation bill. He further emphasized his personal connection to this development, as he had previously introduced this bill during his tenure as the law minister in the Union government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. While Dola Sen of TMC and Dr. Sukanta Majumdar of BJP in West Bengal welcomed the legislation, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar questioned the delayed implementation. Swami Prasad Maurya from Samajwadi Party termed the bill as 'flawed' because there was no reservation for OBC women. Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar expressed that the opposition is remorseful for their inability to introduce the women's reservation bill, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully accomplished this task in the form of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot praised his party chairperson and reiterated that this bill has been a long-standing aspiration of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi which is finally set to be realized after a two decades effort by Sonia Gandhi.^[26]

Shama Mohamed, the Congress spokesperson, attributed the passing of bill to the victory of her party as she claimed it was Congress which gave India its first woman PM, first woman President and first woman Speaker in Parliament.^[27] Calling the legislation as a 'trickery', Yogendra Yadav asserted that implementation of women's reservation in Indian politics is not expected to occur until the year 2039.^[28]

Smriti Irani remarked the opposition has been laid bare and the Congress is intentionally misleading the nation. Kiren Rijiju said it requires that political leaders refrain from engaging in criticism of the women's reservation bill, and instead, extend their unwavering support towards its implementation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his appreciation for the contributions made by all members and political parties towards the advancement of women and the promotion of nari shakti. He extended his gratitude to every leader present in the House for their comprehensive deliberation on the women's reservation bill.^[26]

See also

• Women's political participation in India
• Women's Reservation Bill (2010)

References