The National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) moved the Supreme Court challenging the clause that provides for the delimitation of constituencies as a prerequisite for the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act.
The aforesaid matter was listed before a bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna. The bench tagged the matter with another petition related to the issue.
The NFIW petition was moved through Advocate Prashant Bhushan and Ria Yadav. The petition sought to challenge the constitutional validity of Article 334A (1) or Clause 5 of the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 in so far as it renders delimitation of constituencies a prerequisite to the implementation of the Act.
The petition stated that the said clause is arbitrary, unequal and violative of Articles 14 and 15. It added that conducting a delimitation exercise should not be and has never been a requirement for the implementation of reservations in Lok Sabha or state legislatures.
It underlined that there are several instances of reservations for certain classes where no such delimitation clause was introduced. It also pointed out that having delimitation as a prerequisite to only women’s reservations and not for reservations for SC/STs/Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha and State Legislature Assembly is a violation of the Articles 14 and 15, the Equality Code and consequently of the basic structure doctrine
The petitioner also urged the Supreme Court to issue a direction declaring Article 334A (1) or Clause 5 of the Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 as unconstitutional. The National Federation of Indian Women is a women’s organization established in 1954 with the aim of securing women’s rights. Social activist Annie Raja is the General Secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women.
The Women Reservation Act or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhniyam, which provides 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha as well as the state legislative assemblies, was unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha, becoming the first bill to be passed in the new Parliament building.