The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, also titled the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, received presidential assent from President Droupadi Murmu on 28 September 2023. The amendment reserves 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, including seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Background
The legislative effort to secure women's reservation in Parliament and State Assemblies spans nearly three decades. The Constitution (81st Amendment) Bill was first introduced in 1996, followed by subsequent attempts in 1997, 1998, and 1999, none of which progressed to enactment due to lack of political consensus. The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2008, lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.
The renewed effort came during a Special Session of Parliament convened from 18-22 September 2023 at the new Parliament building. The Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 19 September 2023, passed by the Lok Sabha on 20 September 2023, and adopted unanimously by the Rajya Sabha on 21 September 2023 after an 11-hour debate. No Member of Parliament voted against or abstained during the Rajya Sabha division conducted by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Key Provisions
The Amendment introduces the following constitutional framework:
Article 330A: Reserves not less than one-third of total seats in the Lok Sabha for women, including within seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under Article 330.
Article 332A: Extends the same one-third reservation to State Legislative Assemblies and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, including within SC/ST reserved seats under Article 332.
Article 334A: The reservation shall come into effect after the first delimitation exercise conducted following the commencement of this Amendment. The delimitation exercise is contingent upon the completion of a census subsequent to the Amendment's commencement.
Duration: The reservation is mandated for a period of 15 years from the date it becomes operative, subject to extension by Parliament through further amendment.
Rotation mechanism: Seats reserved for women shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a State or Union Territory, as prescribed by Parliament.
Implications for Practitioners
This Amendment represents the most significant structural reform to India's electoral architecture since the 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992) that introduced women's reservation in local self-government. However, its practical impact is deferred — the crucial linkage to delimitation and census means the reservation will not take effect for the next general election due in 2024.
Constitutional law practitioners should note the novel conditional commencement mechanism under Article 334A. Unlike most constitutional amendments that take effect upon presidential assent or a notified date, this Amendment's operative provisions are triggered by an external event — the completion of a post-amendment census followed by delimitation. This creates an open-ended timeline that depends on executive action to conduct the census and constitute the Delimitation Commission.
For election law practitioners, the rotation mechanism for reserved constituencies will require careful design to balance geographical fairness with electoral predictability. The experience of Panchayat-level reservation rotation under the 73rd Amendment, which has faced litigation over mid-term rotation changes, suggests that the modalities of rotation will generate significant legal questions.
Political parties and their legal advisers must begin preparing for candidate selection frameworks that accommodate the one-third reservation across different categories of constituencies. The intersection of women's reservation with SC/ST reservation creates a layered matrix that will require careful constituency planning once delimitation boundaries are drawn.