Analysis: The Absence of State Assembly Ratification for the Women’s Reservation Bill

The Women’s Reservation Bill will not necessitate state approval if it secures passage in parliament with a special majority. According to Article 368 of the Indian Constitution, achieving a special majority mandates the support of two-thirds of the members present and voting, along with more than half of the total members of the House.

This significant bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha just yesterday, advocates for a 33% reservation of seats for women in both the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

Yesterday, the President of India formally endorsed the Women’s Reservation Bill, which had received widespread bipartisan backing in both houses of parliament earlier this month. The enactment of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act of 2023 represents a significant milestone as it aims to allocate one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha, state legislative upper houses, and the Delhi legislative assembly to women.

Moreover, this legislative measure introduces horizontal reservations within the women’s quota, specifically targeting women from the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) communities. According to the provisions of this Act, the implementation of women’s reservation will be contingent upon a delimitation exercise conducted following the next national census and is slated to remain in effect for a period of fifteen years.

It might pique one’s curiosity as to why this particular bill did not require ratification by at least half of the states, unlike the 2019 Constitution (One Hundred and Fourth Amendment) Act. The 2019 amendment extended the reservation for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for an additional decade while eliminating the Anglo-Indian quota. In that case, ratification was only secured after resolutions were passed by over half of the states’ legislatures. This practice has its roots in 1959 when the first constitutional amendment was introduced to extend the reservation period for members from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and the Anglo-Indian community, which had initially been set at ten years from the commencement of the Constitution. Subsequently, state ratification was sought under the proviso to Article 368(2) in 1969, 1980, 1989, 1999, 2009, and 2019 before extending the duration of reservation.