SC Issues Notice on Plea Seeking Immediate Enforcement of 33% Quota for Women
The Supreme Court has issued a notice on a petition that challenges the clause in the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023—popularly known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam—which makes the 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies dependent on future delimitation after the next census.
The matter was heard by a Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan.
The petitioner, Dr Jaya Thakur, a Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh, argued that linking the implementation of women’s reservation to an uncertain future exercise has no rational basis. “There is no mention of when the census or delimitation will begin. The entire process has not even started,” her counsel submitted.
Justice Nagarathna observed that the enforcement of any law falls within the executive’s domain. However, the petitioner’s counsel clarified that the plea only challenges the contingency clause, not the timing of the implementation itself. “Our concern is that the reservation has been made conditional upon an event that may or may not happen anytime soon,” she said.
Justice Nagarathna then remarked, “We can only ask them when they propose to begin the process. Maybe they wish to base it on scientific data.”
In response, the counsel argued that Parliament had already relied on scientific data while enacting the law, so there was no reason to postpone its enforcement.
The Court has now sought responses from the Union government and other respondents.
Dr Thakur’s petition seeks to declare as void-ab-initio the condition under Article 334A(1) of the Constitution that delays the reservation until the completion of a future census and delimitation exercise. The plea urges the Court to direct the government to implement women’s reservation immediately, arguing that the delay violates Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution by depriving women of equal political opportunity.
The petition highlights that previous constitutional amendments related to reservation—for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes—were implemented without being linked to any census or delimitation process. It asserts that this condition undermines the purpose of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which was meant to empower women politically.
Despite women constituting almost half of India’s population, they currently hold only about 4% of seats in legislative bodies, the plea notes.
Dr Thakur’s earlier petition, filed before the President’s assent to the Bill, was dismissed as infructuous.
Case Title: Jaya Thakur v. Union of India
Case No.: Diary No. 30811 / 2025
