Supreme Court refuses to Entertain Petition Challenging Women's Reservation Act

By: WE Staff | Friday, 10 January 2025

• SC refuses plea filed by NFIW and Jaya Thakur challenging Women’s Reservation Act 2023
• SC says the petitions filed are infructuous as the bill has already become Law
• Petitions argued that the prerequisite of delimitation before implementation violated the spirit of the law

The Supreme Court of India has refused to consider pleas challenging the delimitation clause in the Nari Shakti Vandan Act 2023, which grants one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies to women. The court found the petitions filed by Jaya Thakur and the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) infructuous or pointless.

The NFIW challenged the constitutional validity of Article 334A (1) or Clause 5 of the Act, which made constituency delimitation a prerequisite for its implementation or redrawing constituencies essential for application which violated the spirit of the law.

Refusing to entertain these pleas, the court led by Justices Bela M Trivedi and P B Varale, argued that the bill had already become law and that the NFIW could move the case to the high court or another appropriate forum under Article 32. The court noted that it would be difficult to strike down a part of the women's reservation law.

The Nari Shakti Vandan Act 2023 aims to increase women's representation in legislative bodies and promote gender equality in politics by reserving one-third of Lok Sabha and state assembly seats.

The top court in India has ruled that it would be difficult to strike down a part of the women's reservation law, which will come into effect after the census on November 3, 2023. However, a bill to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women received parliamentary approval on September 21, 2023.

The quota for women in Lok Sabha and assemblies will last for 15 years, with Parliament allowing an extension. Adding to this, the main quota has another quota for SC/ST women. The opposition demanded an extension for the backward class inclusion as well. The bill, which has been pending since 1996, was approved by India's President Droupadi Murmu on September 29, 2023.