When Will the Women's Reservation Bill Be Implemented; Know the Status of the Bill and the Method of Seat Rese

On Thursday (September 21), the Rajya Sabha unanimously passed the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, which seeks to offer 33% reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

Because the Bill is a constitutional amendment, it must be adopted by half of the state legislatures before it can be sent to the president for her signature. In the Rajya Sabha debate, which lasted over ten and a half hours and featured remarks from 72 members, the Bill was passed with 215 members voting in favor and none opposed.

Even though the Act was passed, the Union administration did not specify a particular date for when it would be implemented, despite opposition members raising concerns about the delimitation and census clauses attached to it. The Lok Sabha had enacted the legislation, which has been in the works for 27 years, with a two-thirds majority.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to the Upper House before the Bill was put to a vote to thank all members for their support. "In both houses, nearly 132 speakers have spoken." I'd like to thank everyone who voted in favor of the Bill. "This spirit that has been born will instill a new spirit of self-confidence in the consciousness of the country," he stated. "All MPs, and political parties have played an important role...and this itself will be a guarantee of our bright future."

The Bill specifies that one-third of seats in the National Capital Territory of Delhi's legislative assembly shall be reserved for women by amending Article 239AA, one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha by amending Article 330, and one-third of seats in state legislative assemblies by amending Article 332.

The following are the Bill's main features

Reservation for women: The Bill reserves, "as nearly as may be," one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi for women. This includes seats reserved for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures.

Commencement of reservation: The reservation will be effective after the census conducted after the commencement of the Bill has been published. Delimitation will be done based on the census to reserve seats for women. The reservation will be available for 15 years. It will, however, continue until a date designated by a bill passed by Parliament.

Rotation of seats: Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation, as determined by a law made by Parliament.

Steps that must be performed before the Bill can be enacted

According to the Bill, the census and delimitation exercises must take place before the reservation may be enforced. In his statement to the Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the reservation will not be enforced in the next 2024 elections. According to him, the next government will conduct the census and delimitation exercise following the Lok Sabha elections in order to start the process of making reservations for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

While proposing the Bill in Lok Sabha, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal stated, "This constitutional amendment is both horizontal and vertical." There is also a reservation for SC and ST women because a census and delimitation are required." He went on to say that following the delimitation exercise, the Delimitation Commission will select which seats will go to women.

What exactly is a Delimitation Exercise?

Under current legislation, the Delimitation Commission is led by a former Supreme Court Justice and is in charge of analyzing Census data. The Commission is anticipated to demarcate new Lok Sabha constituencies using Census data. According to Census data, constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

When Parliament passes a Delimitation Act, the Centre appoints a Delimitation Commission, which is chaired by a former Supreme Court judge. The orders of this powerful council are legally binding and cannot be challenged in a court of law. Even Parliament cannot propose changes to an order issued by the commission, which includes the Chief Election Commissioner and either of the two Election Commissioners.

If the exercise is particular to a state, the state's election commissioner is also a member of the panel. Because the commission is a temporary entity with no permanent personnel, the lengthy exercise requires the cooperation of EC officials. Census data is collected for each district, tehsil, and gram panchayat, and new boundaries are drawn.

The commission investigates population data, existing constituencies, and the number of seats, holds consultations with all stakeholders, and makes recommendations to the government. The draft report of the commission is published in the Gazette of India in order to solicit public feedback. The feedback is analyzed, and any necessary modifications are made before the final report is published. No adjustments can be made once the final report is released.

The commission's recommendation takes effect on a date set by the President. Copies of its orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the respective legislative assemblies, but no changes are permitted.

Bill passed; no deadline given

Despite universal support for the legislation, the Union government has failed to offer any timeline for its implementation. The Bill provides that the "provisions relating to the reservation of seats for women...shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after [the Bill is passed] have been published."

In response to the opposition's worries, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the Bill is not a "election jumla". "This is not a jumla." Delimitation is not an exercise to further this exercise. "Once we pass this (Bill) and the census, the ball is in motion for a delimitation commission to be established," she said. Sitharaman stated that the administration is "carrying a legacy" by freezing the delimitation exercise till 2026.

"What makes 2026 special to us?" We inherit a legacy in which delimitation dates were frozen not once, but twice, for extended periods of time. With these constraints, it will be impossible to implement it presently. "We will implement this (Bill) once the census is completed and the delimitation is completed," she added. Earlier on Wednesday, in his Lok Sabha speech, home minister Amit Shah indicated that the Act will not go into effect until 2029.

Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal reiterated the government's position in his response while presenting the bill to vote, saying, "..Do not worry (about implementation)....Modi hai toh mumkin hai (Anything is possible with Modi)." In response to queries from the opposition concerning the delay in enacting laws during the Modi government's 9.5-year tenure, Sitharaman stated that there was a need to "build consensus."

"It is important that we build consensus and also show that we are committed to the economic and social empowerment of women," she stated. Sitharaman also stated that the government has worked to empower women socially and economically during the last nine years, citing government programs such as the Ujjwala Yojana, the Mudra credit programme, and the inclusion of women in combat roles in the armed services.