SC calls women’s reservation law a ‘very good step‘, but reluctant to step in for its implementation before LS polls

November 03, 2023 08:59 pm | Updated November 04, 2023 07:06 am IST - NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on November 3 termed a constitutional amendment reserving one-third of the seats in Parliament, State legislatures, and the Delhi Legislative Assembly for women as a “very good step” towards attaining gender parity in politics, but voiced doubts about stepping in to ensure the implementation of the quota law before the general election in 2024. The petition filed by Jaya Thakur, represented by senior advocate Vikas Singh and advocate Varinder Kumar Sharma, questioned a clause in the law which said the reservation should be implemented only after the next Census followed by a delimitation exercise. “For the last 75 years there has been no adequate representation of women in the Parliament and State legislatures… This has been a long-pending demand for decades… In the present amendment, there is no requirement for census figures or for the conduct of delimitation exercise as the number of seats reserved - 33% - is already declared and will be from the existing seats. “Democracy is part of the basic structure of our Constitution and rule of law and free and fair elections are basic features of our democracy,” the petition argued.