Women’s Reservation Act 2023 Came into Force Ahead of Amendment Vote in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: The Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 which provides a 33% quota for women in legislative bodies—was brought into force on Thursday, just as Parliament began discussions on a proposed amendment to the law.

According to an official, enforcing the Act was necessary because any amendment to it could not take effect unless the original law was operational. Although the Constitution Amendment Bill had earlier been passed and enacted, it had not formally become part of the Constitution since it had not been notified for implementation.

The official explained that without bringing the law into force, its amendment would not have been legally possible. Therefore, the government notified April 16, 2026, as the date from which the Act would take effect.

The notification came amid ongoing parliamentary debate on changes aimed at enabling the implementation of the law by 2029. Another official referred to “technical reasons” for the timing of the notification but did not elaborate further.

Despite the Act now being in force, the reservation for women will not apply to the current Lok Sabha. Officials clarified that its implementation depends on a future delimitation exercise, which will be conducted after the next Census.

The official notification stated that the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, would come into effect from April 16, 2026.

The legislation, also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, was passed by Parliament in September 2023 as a major step toward increasing women’s representation. It mandates one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

However, under the original framework, the reservation was expected to be implemented only after the completion of delimitation based on the post-2027 Census, effectively pushing enforcement to around 2034.

To advance the timeline, the government has introduced three new bills 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—with the aim of enabling the quota to take effect by 2029.