What Happened
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to the floor leaders of both Houses of Parliament ahead of a special three-day sitting (April 16–18), urging all parties to support amendments to the Women's Reservation Act to enable 33% reservation in Lok Sabha and state assemblies before the 2029 general elections.
- The Union Cabinet approved a draft amendment bill on April 8, 2026, proposing to delink the implementation of reservation from a fresh census and delimitation — instead using the 2011 Census data for the forthcoming delimitation exercise.
- The proposed amendment would expand total Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816, reserving 273 seats for women.
- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the timing and pointed to the lack of consultations on legislation that would affect the federal structure, accusing the government of rushing the process for political gains ahead of 2029.
- The BJP issued a three-line whip to its MPs to be present during the special session.
Static Topic Bridges
Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 — Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam
The Women's Reservation Act, officially the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, was passed by the Lok Sabha on September 20, 2023 (454–2) and by the Rajya Sabha unanimously (214–0) on September 21, 2023. It inserts Articles 330A and 332A into the Constitution to reserve one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, including seats already reserved for SCs and STs.
- Reservation is valid for 15 years from commencement and rotated after each delimitation exercise
- Under the original text, reservation kicks in only after the first Census post-enactment and the subsequent delimitation — creating a legislative bottleneck since the Census was postponed beyond 2025
- The 2026 amendment proposal seeks to use the 2011 Census as the basis for delimitation, bypassing the pending Census requirement
- Seats reserved for women are to be allocated by Parliament through a separate law
Connection to this news: The 2026 amendment attempts to operationalise the 106th Amendment by removing the Census-delimitation dependency, targeting implementation for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Delimitation and Constitutional Framework
Delimitation refers to the redrawing of constituency boundaries based on population data from the Census. Under Article 82, delimitation follows every Census. The Delimitation Commission is constituted under the Delimitation Commission Act; its orders have the force of law and cannot be challenged in court. The proposed 2026 amendment would delink this process from the pending 2021 Census and use 2011 data instead.
- Delimitation orders under Article 82 are not subject to judicial scrutiny (Article 329)
- The last delimitation exercise was conducted in 2008 based on 2001 Census data
- Seat expansion from 543 to 816 would require a constitutional amendment since Article 81 currently caps Lok Sabha membership at 550
Connection to this news: The proposed amendments must navigate the constitutional architecture around delimitation and parliamentary seat limits — requiring at least a special majority and possible ratification by states.
Special Parliament Sessions and Parliamentary Procedure
The Constitution does not specify the number of sessions Parliament must hold. By convention, three sessions are held: Budget (Feb–May), Monsoon (July–August), and Winter (Nov–Dec). A special or extraordinary session can be called under Article 85(1) by the President on the advice of the Cabinet, with no minimum notice period prescribed.
- A constitutional amendment bill must be passed by a special majority (two-thirds of members present and voting, plus majority of total membership) under Article 368
- If the amendment affects the federal structure (as Kharge argued), it also requires ratification by at least half the state legislatures under the proviso to Article 368(2)
- Representation of Lok Sabha seats falls under Article 81 — increasing the seat count requires amending Article 81 as well
Connection to this news: The opposition's argument about "federal structure" concerns is constitutionally significant: if seat expansion and constituency delimitation are classified as affecting federalism, the amendment would need state ratification, complicating the government's timeline.
Key Facts & Data
- Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 is also called the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam
- Lok Sabha passed it 454–2; Rajya Sabha unanimously 214–0 (September 2023)
- Proposed seat expansion: 543 → 816 Lok Sabha seats; 273 seats to be reserved for women
- Reservation duration: 15 years; rotated after each delimitation
- Original condition for activation: post-census delimitation (blocked by delayed 2021 Census)
- 2026 amendment proposal: use 2011 Census data to fast-track implementation before 2029
- Special Parliament session scheduled: April 16–18, 2026