Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Government of India on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in political sphere. Notice has been sent to Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Law and Justice.
Jai Thakur, a resident of Damoh, filed PIL in Supreme Court challenging constitutionality of provisions delaying implementation of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023.
As per the petition, despite women constituting 50% of the population, their representation in politics is a mere 4%. In Madhya Pradesh, women’s participation is only 9.13%.
Parliament passed the 106th Constitutional Amendment to provide 33% reservation for women through the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023. A clause in the Act states it will come into force only after completion of the delimitation process.
Preliminary hearing of the petition was conducted by a Division Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Mahadevan. The plea pointed out that any law passed by Parliament or a State Legislature comes into effect immediately. However, Government of India has failed to implement the Act and instead made a provision to enforce it retrospectively, i.e., after delimitation in the 2029 elections.
Taking this seriously, and citing data published by Ministry of Law and Justice in 2022 showing women’s average political representation at only 4%, the Bench issued notice to seek government’s response.
Senior Advocate Varun Thakur, appearing for petitioner, said, “Despite women comprising 50% of the population, the Division Bench, considering the above facts, has issued notices to Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, seeking their response."
