New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Union government to respond to a petition seeking immediate enforcement of the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, which provides one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. The court noted that women, who constitute nearly half of India’s population, remain significantly underrepresented in legislative bodies.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan issued notice to the Centre while remarking that women form the “largest minority” in the country. Justice Nagarathna stated, “Our Preamble to the Constitution of India says all citizens are entitled to political and social equality. Who is the largest minority in this country? It is the women. It is almost 48 per cent. This is about the political equality of women.”
The petition was filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, represented by senior advocate Shobha Gupta.
Gupta argued that even after 75 years of independence, women still struggle for representation in the highest democratic institutions and now have to seek judicial intervention to secure it. Gupta submitted that the Act already reserves one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies based on data and should not be delayed further.
However, the bench stressed the judiciary’s limited powers in implementing policy decisions. “The courts have limitations when interfering with such policy matters,” Justice Nagarathna said, adding that enforcement rests with the executive and that no mandamus could be issued in such matters.
Thakur’s plea, filed through advocate Varun Thakur, contests the requirement that the reservation be implemented only after a fresh delimitation exercise based on the next Census. The petition urged the court to declare the condition “void ab initio” and sought immediate implementation of the reservation mandate under the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Eighth Amendment) Act, 2023, popularly known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.
The plea argued that the constitutional amendment cannot be held in abeyance for an uncertain period and pointed out that a special session of Parliament had been convened to pass the legislation. Both Houses approved the Bill with near unanimity in September 2023 and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on September 28, 2023. The Act was subsequently notified. The petition described women’s representation as inadequate over the last 75 years in both Parliament and state legislatures and called the law a long-pending demand.
On January 10 this year, the Supreme Court had earlier declined to examine challenges to the delimitation clause in the Act. At that time, the bench was not inclined to entertain petitions by Thakur and the National Federation of Indian Women under Article 32. Thakur’s plea had been deemed infructuous since the Bill had already become law, while the court advised the NFIW to approach a high court or another appropriate forum. The NFIW had questioned the validity of Article 334A (1) of the Constitution or Clause 5 of the Act, which makes delimitation a prerequisite.
In a previous hearing on November 3, 2023, the Supreme Court had remarked that it would be “very difficult” to strike down any portion of the women’s reservation law, which is tied to the Census process. The court declined to issue notice then and instead asked counsel to serve the petition on the Centre’s lawyer.
The Act mandates reservation for women for 15 years once implemented, with Parliament empowered to extend the period. Its rollout awaits the next Census and a subsequent delimitation exercise that will determine which constituencies are reserved.
India has attempted to pass similar legislation since 1996. A major push in 2010 saw the Rajya Sabha approve a Bill, but it did not pass in the Lok Sabha. Currently, women account for about 15 per cent of the Lok Sabha’s strength. Representation in many state assemblies remains below 10 per cent. The petition asserts that all sections of society require fair representation and that women must not wait any longer for legislative inclusion.