Women’s Reservation under the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 – Comprehensive Q&A with Examples

1. Objective and Commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023

What is the primary purpose of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023?

The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 is a constitutional reform aimed at enhancing political participation of women. It introduces reservation of seats for women in:

• The House of the People (Lok Sabha)
• Legislative Assemblies of the States
• Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi

The core objective is to ensure that women occupy not less than one-third of seats in these legislative bodies, including within the seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), thereby strengthening their representation in the law-making process.

From when does the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 come into force?

The Act is designed to come into effect on a date notified by the Central Government. As per the constitutional scheme, such commencement is through a notification published in the Official Gazette.

The Central Government has notified that the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 comes into force on 16 April 2026, via notification issued by the Union Law Ministry.

Note: There is a clear distinction between:

• The date on which the Amendment Act comes into force, and
• The date from which the reservation for women will actually be implemented in elections, which is linked to census and delimitation, as explained later.

2. Parliamentary Passage, Voting Pattern and Coming into Force

When was the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 passed, and what support did it receive?

The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, popularly known as the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023, moved swiftly through both Houses of Parliament with near-unanimous support:

• Lok Sabha:

  • Date of passage: 20 September 2023
  • Votes in favour: 454
  • Votes against: 2
  • Approximate support: about 99.5%

• Rajya Sabha:

  • Date of passage: 21 September 2023
  • Votes in favour: 214
  • Votes against: 0
  • Support: 100% approval of members present and voting

This overwhelming backing underscores a broad political consensus on increasing women’s participation in the democratic process.

On which date did the provisions of the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 formally come into force?

The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 became operational on 16 April 2026, from which date the constitutional amendments are legally in force. However, the practical working of women’s reservation in terms of seats in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies is deferred until certain prerequisites, such as census and delimitation, are completed.

3. Actual Operational Effect – When Will Reservation for Women Start Applying?

Does the reservation start immediately on 16 April 2026?

Legally, the amendment is in force from 16 April 2026. However, its functional impact on the composition of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies is structured in a phased manner.

Two key principles operate:

1. Non-disturbance of existing Houses:

   • The current Lok Sabha and the existing State Legislative Assemblies, as constituted at the time the Act comes into force, will remain unchanged.
   • No sitting member loses a seat or faces alteration of their constituency mid-term due to this amendment.

2. Prospective application after specific milestones:

   • Reservation for women will become effective only for future Houses, i.e., for elections held after:
     1. The next census is conducted and its figures are published; and
     2. A subsequent delimitation exercise is carried out on the basis of that census.

Important:

• The constitutional amendment is in force from 16 April 2026.
• But women’s reservation in seats will be implemented only after census + delimitation, and only from the first general election conducted after these processes.

Illustrative example of when reservation would begin to apply

Assume the following:

• The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 comes into force on 16 April 2026.
• The current Lok Sabha, elected in 2024, is functioning on that date.

In such a situation: