What Happened
- The Central Government is in early consultations with the Opposition to explore a possible amendment to the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act (the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023) that would remove the requirement of a delimitation exercise before women's reservation seats can be operationalised.
- Currently, the Act mandates that reservation comes into force only after the next delimitation following a fresh census — a process that cannot begin until census figures published after 2026 are available, meaning implementation could be delayed until 2034 or later.
- The government is examining whether an amending provision could allow reservation to be applied to existing constituencies, bypassing the delimitation-first requirement.
- Opposition parties have broadly welcomed the idea of faster implementation, though concerns remain about seat rotation and which constituencies would be designated for women.
Static Topic Bridges
The 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam)
The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 — commonly called the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam — was passed by both Houses of Parliament in September 2023 and received Presidential assent on 28 September 2023. It inserts three new Articles into the Constitution to provide 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies.
- Article 330A: Reserves one-third of all seats (including seats already reserved for SC/ST) in the Lok Sabha for women.
- Article 332A: Reserves one-third of all seats (including SC/ST reserved seats) in all State Legislative Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly for women.
- Article 334A: The operative clause — specifies the reservation shall come into force only after the delimitation undertaken following the first Census published after the commencement of the Act; provides for a 15-year sunset clause; mandates rotation of reserved seats after each delimitation.
- The Act amends Articles 239AA (Delhi) to bring the Delhi Assembly within its scope.
- It does not cover Rajya Sabha or State Legislative Councils (Upper Houses).
Connection to this news: Article 334A is the specific provision the government proposes to amend or bypass — it is this clause that creates the delimitation precondition, without which the entire reservation mechanism cannot be triggered.
The Delimitation Process and Its Constitutional Basis
Delimitation is the redrawing of constituency boundaries based on updated population data following a census. It is conducted by the Delimitation Commission, a statutory body established under the Delimitation Act.
- The Constitution (84th Amendment) Act, 2001 froze the total number of Lok Sabha and State Assembly seats and postponed any delimitation until the first census after 2026 — meaning the next permissible delimitation is based on data from the 2031 census (to be published several years after collection).
- Articles 82 and 170 of the Constitution provide for delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies respectively.
- The Delimitation Commission is constituted under Article 327 (read with the Delimitation Act) and its orders have the force of law — they cannot be challenged in any court (Article 329).
- After the census is completed, delimitation typically takes 2-4 years, pushing actual implementation of women's reservation potentially to 2034 or beyond.
Connection to this news: The proposed amendment would decouple reservation from delimitation — allowing the Election Commission to designate existing constituencies as women-reserved seats, similar to how SC/ST constituency reservations were implemented before the delimitation freeze.
Women's Reservation: Legislative History and Preceding Bills
The Women's Reservation Bill had a long and contentious parliamentary history spanning nearly three decades before its 2023 passage.
- Earlier versions were introduced in 1996 (11th Lok Sabha, lapsed), 1998 (12th Lok Sabha, lapsed), 1999 (13th Lok Sabha, lapsed), and 2008 (passed in Rajya Sabha but lapsed on dissolution of Lok Sabha in 2014).
- The 2023 bill was piloted in a special session of Parliament held in the newly inaugurated Parliament building.
- It was numbered as the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 during parliamentary proceedings but became the 106th Amendment Act upon enactment — the difference arises because constitutional amendment bills are numbered sequentially when introduced, while Acts are numbered by the count of actual constitutional amendments ratified.
- OBC sub-quota within the women's reservation was a key Opposition demand that remains unaddressed in the current law.
Connection to this news: The government's outreach to the Opposition is significant — it mirrors the broad consensus needed to pass the original Act, and any amendment to Article 334A would itself require a special majority (two-thirds of members present and voting, plus a majority of the total membership of each House) under Article 368.
Constitutional Amendment Procedure Under Article 368
Amending the 106th Amendment would itself require following the procedure prescribed under Article 368 of the Constitution.
- Article 368(2): Amendments to most constitutional provisions require a special majority — a majority of the total membership of each House (absolute majority) and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
- Certain provisions additionally require ratification by at least half the State Legislatures — these include Articles affecting federal structure, judicial appointments, and the manner of electing the President.
- Article 334A (which would be the target of the proposed amendment) falls under Part XV (Elections) of the Constitution; amending it would likely require only the special parliamentary majority, not State ratification.
Connection to this news: The government's cross-party consultations reflect the practical arithmetic of securing a two-thirds majority in both Houses — it cannot pass without significant Opposition support.
Key Facts & Data
- 106th Amendment: Passed September 2023; inserts Articles 330A, 332A, 334A.
- Seats covered: One-third of approximately 543 Lok Sabha seats and all State Assembly seats (numbers frozen since 2001 delimitation).
- Reservation within reservation: The one-third includes seats already reserved for SC/ST — so SC/ST women benefit from a double layer of reservation.
- Sunset clause: 15 years from the date the reservation first comes into force (under Article 334A).
- Rotation: Reserved constituencies rotate after each delimitation exercise (every ~10 years).
- Earliest implementation estimate (current law): Post-2031 census + delimitation exercise = approximately 2034.
- Women in Parliament (current): About 13-15% in Lok Sabha as of 2024 — one of the lowest among major democracies.
- Amendment procedure: Article 368(2) — special majority (majority of total membership + two-thirds of members present and voting in each House).
- Historical parallel: SC/ST reservation in Lok Sabha (Articles 330 and 332) operates without a fresh delimitation requirement; the proposed change would align women's reservation with that model.