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With members from both the ruling government and the Opposition extending their support to the Women's Reservation Bill, the proposal was passed in Rajya Sabha on Thursday by a majority of not less than 2/3rd's of the members of the house present and voting in favour. Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankar called it a historic achievement as a total of 215 votes were in support of the bill and not a single member voted against it. However, despite it has been passed in both houses, it seems to have a long road ahead before it is finally implemented.

According to the Women's Reservation Bill (128th amendment Bill), the 33 per cent quota will come into effect only after the delimitation of constituencies is undertaken based on the latest census, which is expected by 2026.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking on the debate during the special session of Parliament, stated clearly that the Women's Reservation Bill will be implemented after 2029. To understand the expected timeline of implementation, let us take a look at the terms laid down in the Bill and the process involved in reservation of seats.

What Does Women's Reservation Bill Say

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Bill 2023, which seeks reservation for women states: "Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provision of this Part or Part VIII, the provisions of the Constitution relating to the reservation of seats for women in the House of People, the Legislative Assembly of State, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after the commencement of The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Bill 2023 have been published, and shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of 15 years from the date of such commencement."

Women's Quota Only After 2029: Amit Shah

As the long-drawn issue of women's reservation in legislative bodies returns to Parliament, the Opposition has cast doubts on Centre's intention behind tabling the Bill months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The general elections are scheduled to be held in April-May, 2024. The Opposition has alleged that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government is trying to fool the country as the implementation of the reservation policy will not be possible anytime soon.

Countering the Opposition's contention, Union Minister Amit Shah said the women’s reservation Bill will come into effect only after 2029, irrespective of the Opposition’s support. He went on to say, "After [Lok Sabha] election, Census and delimitation will be done immediately and soon, the day will come when women will occupy one-third of seats in the House and decide the future of the country."

How Are Seats Reserved In India

The guiding principles for reserving the seats are laid down by the Delimitation Act, 2002. Delimitation is the "process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies" in a country with a legislative body, according to the official website of Election Commission. The delimitation process is undertaken after every census to ensure that the demographic changes are well-accommodated at the state, Union Territory or national-level.

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The Delimitation Act provides for setting up the Delimitation Commission which decides how many Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies should be reserved based on the population data.

Currently, the Constitution allows reservation to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on the basis of their population in the concerned constituencies. Section 9 (1)(c) of the Act says, "Constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes shall be distributed in different parts of the State and located, as far as practicable, in those areas where the proportion of their population to the total is comparatively large."

The Act also lays down a similar condition for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes. It says: "Constituencies in which seats are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes shall, as far as practicable, be located in areas where the proportion of their population to the total is the largest."

What Is Women Reservation Bill, How Will It Be Implemented

To provide reservation to women, the Bill proposes to introduce new articles, 330A, 332A and 334A, and a clause in 239AA to the Constitution. While the articles 330A and 332A reservations for women in state assemblies and Lok Sabha, respectively, 239AA grants quota in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Under these articles, one-third of seats reserved for SCs and STs and one-third of the total seats to be filled by direct elections in the assemblies shall be reserved for women.

To bring these Articles into effect, the first requirement would be the data on population. The country's Census, which was scheduled to be held in 2021, was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and is now expected to be conducted in 2024 or 2025, once the nation is done with the Lok Sabha elections and government formation. Further, the results of the census will be released one or two years later.

Once the Census data is out, a delimitation process will have to be undertaken. Delimitation, which is a precondition for the implementation of quota, is done under Article 82 and Article 170(3). While Art 82 provides for readjustment of constituencies after every Census, the latter deals with composition of the Legislative Assemblies. Both these Articles would have to be amended for the delimitation process to become a reality.

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Women MPs show victory sign after Lok Sabha passes the Women's Reservation Bill. (Image: ANI)

How Will Govt Identify 33% Seats For Women

The proposed, Article 334A, states that the reservations will be implemented once delimitation is undertaken based on the first Census published after the Bill is passed. The Article also provides for rotation of reserved seats for women, which will be done after every delimitation exercise.

However, the Bill does not elaborate on how these seats will be identified. A separate law is expected to be framed to determine the seats, according to a report by the Indian Express. Once the Women's Reservation Bill is passed, it will empower the government to further enact a law for its implementation.

Earlier, in 2010 the UPA government had proposed drawing lots to decide on constituencies to be reserved for women. This method was suggested to ensure that the same constituencies are not reserved every time. The current NDA government has proposed the rotational reservation of seats. However, it remains to be seen how exactly the Modi government will determine the 33 per cent reserved seats.

The Women's Reservation Bill has also laid down a time frame of 15 years till reservation for women will be applicable. The period is being estimated as the time required to improve women's position in electoral politics.

Reservation For Women In Local Bodies In India

Women in India have been given reservation in Panchayats under Article 243D of the Constitution, which states, "Not less than one third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat."

The reservation of on-third seats in Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies were mandated by 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, brought during P V Narasimha Rao's term as Prime Minister. Both the Acts were enacted in 1993.