Government enforces Women Reservation Act 2023 amid push for 2029 rollout

The Women Reservation Act 2023, which provides 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures, came into force on Thursday, ahead of voting on its proposed amendment in the Lok Sabha.

An official said the decision to operationalise the law was necessary for the amendment currently under discussion in Parliament.

The Constitution amendment Bill had earlier become law but was not made part of the Constitution as it had not been brought into force.

“If a law does not come into force, how can its proposed amendment be implemented. Hence it was brought into force with effect from April 16,” the official said.

The 2023 Act was notified with effect from April 16 during the ongoing debate in Parliament on amendments aimed at enabling its implementation in 2029.

Another official on Thursday night cited “technicalities” for bringing the law into force without providing further details. The official also said that even though the Act has now come into force, the reservation cannot be implemented in the current House.

According to the official, reservation for women can be implemented only after a delimitation exercise based on the next Census.

The notification stated: “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, the Central Government hereby appoints the 16th day of April, 2026 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”

In September 2023, Parliament passed the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’, commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, aimed at increasing women’s representation in legislative bodies.

The law provides for reservation of one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

Under the 2023 Act, the reservation is not expected to be implemented before 2034, as it is linked to the completion of the delimitation exercise following the Census scheduled after 2027.

The three Bills currently under discussion in the Lok Sabha — ‘The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026’, ‘The Delimitation Bill, 2026’ and ‘The Union Territories Laws (Amendment Bill), 2026’ — have been introduced by the government to enable implementation of the women’s quota in 2029.