New Delhi, Jan 12: In a significant development, the Supreme Court, led by Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, declined to entertain a plea advocating for the urgent and time-bound implementation of the Women’s Reservation Law. This law, aimed at ensuring a 33 percent quota for women, was proposed to be enforced in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The plea, filed by Advocate Yogamaya MG, sought the court’s intervention for the immediate application of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which mandates one-third reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies for women. However, the bench, while acknowledging the significance of the matter, directed the advocate to file an intervention application in a related pending PIL by Congress leader Jaya Thakur.
“Look, we don’t want multiplicity of litigation in the matter. You file an intervention application in the petition filed by Jaya Thakur,”
the bench stated, emphasizing the need to streamline legal processes in this significant issue.
Responding to this direction, counsel for Yogamaya requested permission to withdraw the petition, a request that the bench assented to. This development comes ahead of the scheduled listing of Jaya Thakur’s plea on January 16.
The petition by Yogamaya underscored the urgency of implementing the new law in the forthcoming general elections. It argued that without swift action, the intended benefits of the legislation for enhancing women’s representation in the political sphere would be significantly diminished.
“The Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 was passed with uncertainty in its implementation. That the petitioner seeks the intervention of this court to ensure that the Constitutional mandate of fair representation for women is expeditiously realised,”
the petition stated.
It is important to note that the Women’s Reservation Law, also known as Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, is not set for immediate implementation. The law’s enforcement is contingent upon the completion of a new census and subsequent delimitation to reserve seats for women.
This ruling by the Supreme Court marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing discourse surrounding women’s political representation in India, highlighting the complexities and legal intricacies involved in actualizing legislative reforms aimed at gender equality.
