Women largest minority in India: Supreme Court seeks Centre’s response on implementing women’s reservation in Parliament
Bench highlights political equality and issues notice on plea to implement Women’s Reservation Bill 2024 without delimitation
The Supreme Court has sought the Central government’s response to a public interest litigation petition seeking the immediate implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill 2024, which mandates reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha, State legislative assemblies, and Delhi Assembly for women. The Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan remarked that women constitute the largest minority in India, comprising almost 48% of the population, and emphasized the importance of political equality for women.
The petition, filed by Congress leader Dr. Jaya Thakur, urges that the reservations be implemented without waiting for the completion of the delimitation exercise as stipulated in the Bill. The Women’s Reservation Bill, passed by both Houses of Parliament in September 2023 and assented to by the President, added Article 334A to the Constitution. This new Article defers the reservation enactment until after the relevant delimitation based on the first census post-amendment is conducted.
Senior Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing the petitioner, highlighted the unfortunate delay in guaranteeing women’s representation even 75 years after independence. The Court observed the limits of judicial interference in policy matters but issued notice to the government and other respondents to obtain their views on the matter.