Women's Reservation Bill may not be enacted till 2029, even if passed

The Union Cabinet passed the Women's Reservation Bill during a meeting called following the Special Parliament Session on Monday

Through a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) page, NDTV shared a copy of the Women's Reservation Bill that may be tabled during the Special Parliament Session in the Lok Sabha. According to this post, the Bill will only come into effect following the first delimitation or redrawing of constituencies, which cannot take place until after the 2024 elections. This means that even if the Bill is passed, it cannot be enacted until the elections in 2029.

 

The Bill reads, "...the provisions of the Constitution relating to the reservation of seats 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 shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2023 have been published and shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of fifteen years from such commencement."

Also Read: Women's reservation: What major political leaders have said on the Bill

 

The census was scheduled to be conducted in 2021 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As the general elections are slated for 2024, the next census in India may not take place till the end of the next year.

 

The Bill includes reservations for women belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). However, there is no mention of Other Backward Classes (OBC).

 

The draft Bill states that "as nearly as may be", one-third of seats will be filled in Lok Sabha and state assemblies through direct elections. Among the reserved seats, "as nearly as may be," one-third of the seats will be for SC and ST.

 

These provisions of reservation for women in the Lok Sabha for the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi will come into effect after the first census is taken following the commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2023." However, it comes with an "expiration of a period of fifteen years" from commencement.

Also Read: The long journey of the Women's Reservation Bill in India explained

 

The clause on rotation of seats will be "as the Parliament may by law determine" after each delimitation exercise.