'Even after 75yrs....': SC seeks response on women's Parliament reservation
What's the story
The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the central government on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking implementation of women's reservation in Parliament. The PIL, filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, seeks 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies without waiting for a delimitation exercise. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan heard the matter and stressed on women's political equality, as they constitute almost 48% of India's population.
Reservation debate
Who is the largest minority? Justice Nagarathna asks
Justice Nagarathna emphasized that the Constitution guarantees political and social equality to all citizens. She asked, "Who is the largest minority in this country? It is the woman... almost 48%. This is about the political equality of the woman." Senior advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Thakur, lamented that after 75 years of independence, women still have to approach courts for representation. "They have to reserve only one-third of total seats....They have decided to grant the reservation based on some data."
Limitation
Enforcement of law is up to the executive
The bench then sought the central government's response to the plea, recognizing that the court has limitations when it comes to meddling in such policy matter. "When is the delimitation exercise there? Serve it to government... Enforcement of law is up to the executive and we cannot issue a mandamus. Issue notice to respondents. Let the central agency be served," the court said.
Legislative progress
Women's Reservation Bill passed in September 2023
The reservation bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament in September 2023 and received presidential assent on September 28, 2023. The bill added Article 334A to the Constitution, reserving seats for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies after a delimitation exercise. This process will begin after the results of the first census conducted after the amendment are made public. Thakur, however, is advocating for reservations to be implemented without waiting for such a delimitation exercise to be completed.