On Friday, the Supreme Court decided not to hear challenges against a law that gives 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies. The court said that if people disagree with the law, they can go to the high court.
The case was brought by Congress leader Jaya Thakur and an organization called the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). They want to remove a rule that says the law can only start after a census and new boundary drawings (delimitation). They believe women should get their reservations right away.
Justice Bela M. Trivedi, who led the court, questioned the petitioners about their claims. He asked what basic right was being violated. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who spoke for NFIW, argued that it isn’t fair to tie women’s reservations to delimitation. He said this goes against the right to equality in the Constitution (Article 14).
The court responded that this law is a significant step forward since many earlier attempts to reserve seats for women never became laws. They emphasized that the law is now in effect and suggested that concerns about its constitutionality should be taken to the high court.
The government lawyer, Kanu Agarwal, explained that the timing for when the law starts is up to the legislation. He criticized the petitioners for not clearly showing how this law violates the Constitution. He also noted that Jaya Thakur’s petition was pointless since the law was already passed in September 2023.
Thakur’s petition tried to show that only 4% of women in the country are represented in assemblies, which she called an urgent issue. However, the court stated that her petition was no longer valid since the law had already been enacted.
Overall, the Supreme Court dismissed both petitions, allowing the petitioners, including Thakur, to take their concerns to the high court instead.
