Article 334A of Indian Constitution: Reservation of seats for women take effect.
Article 334A of Indian Constitution
Original Text
Article 334A of Indian Constitution: Reservation of seats for women take effect.
(1) 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 the People, the Legislative Assembly of a 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 commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 have been published and shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of fifteen years from such Commencement.
(2) Subject to the provisions of articles 239AA, 330A and 332A, seats reserved for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall continue till such date as the Parliament may by law determine.
(3) Rotation of seats reserved for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation as the Parliament may by law determine.
(4) Nothing in this article shall affect any representation in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State or the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi until the dissolution of the then existing House of the People, Legislative Assembly of a State or the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Article 334A of Indian Constitution Explanation
The Parliament in September 2023 passed the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023, also known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, providing Reservation for women in 1/3rd of the seats in Lok Sabha, state legislatures, and the Legislature of NCT of Delhi.
The Amendment introduced a sunset clause on Reservation for women, which would expire 15 years from the date of the law coming into effect. Article 334 deals with a similar sunset clause for other reservations of seats and special representation, which will cease to exist after 70 years.
Delimitation literally means the Act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or province having a legislative body.
It is done to reflect the demographic changes in a state, Union Territory, or, at the national level, the underlying in the Lok Sabha as well as in the state assemblies across the country. Hence, this exercise is carried out after every census.
106th Constitutional Amendment Act:
The reservations would continue for 15 years and can be further extended by the Parliament.
It amends the following Articles of the Constitution:
- Article 239AA: 1/3rd of the seats in the assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall be reserved for women. It includes 1/3rd horizontal Reservation in seats for SCs.
- Insertion of Article 330A: 1/3rd of the seats in Lok Sabha shall be reserved for women. It includes 1/3rd horizontal Reservation in seats reserved for SCs and STs.
- Insertion of Article 332A: 1/3rd of the seats in state assemblies shall be reserved for women. It includes 1/3rd horizontal Reservation in seats reserved for SCs and STs.
- Insertion of Article 334A of Indian Constitution: The provisions for Reservation would come into effect after the delimitation is undertaken on the basis of the first census after the Commencement of this Act. The Reservation of seats in the House of the People and state assemblies will cease to have effect after the expiration of 15 years from such Commencement.
Why the Women’s reservation was necessary:
After the 73rd and 74th amendments, in which the women’s reservation was made in the local bodies, it was envisaged that women’s participation would increase in Indian politics in the Parliament and state legislatures. It was a bottom-up approach. However, this has not happened.
- The strength of women MPs in the current Lok Sabha (17th Lok Sabha) is 15%, and in the Rajya Sabha the number is 14%.
- The strength of female MLAs in the state assemblies was around 9% in 2019 (ADR report).
This necessitated the need for a women’s reservation bill.
List of amendments in Article 334A of Indian Constitution
| Amendments | Description |
| 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023 |
Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam inserted: 1. Articles 330A and 332A provide Reservations for women in 1/3rd of the seats in Lok Sabha and the state legislatures. 2. Article 239AA is amended to provide for reservation for women in 1/3rd of the seats in the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi. 3. Article 334A of Indian Constitution extends this Reservation for 15 years from such Commencement. The Commencement shall happen with the first election after the first census after 2023. |
For Further Reference:
Read the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, as published in the Official Gazette of the Government of India.
Read the Parliament article.
