The Supreme Court on January 12 refused to separately hear a writ petition filed by an advocate who wants the law on a 33% quota for women lawmakers to be implemented ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha election.
Instead, a Division Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta asked advocate M.G. Yogamaya to intervene in a pending petition filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who is seeking the same relief. The petition by Ms. Thakur is likely to come up for hearing on January 16.
“Considering the upcoming general elections in 2024, there is an urgent need for the timely implementation of the Women’s Reservation Bill/Act, 2023 [The Constitution (One Hundred Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2023] on the basis of 2001 or 2011 census data under the provisions of Delimitation Act, 2002. Without expeditious action, the benefits of increased women’s representation in the political arena, as envisaged by the Bill, will be lost,” argued Sriram Parakkat, the advocate representing Ms. Yogamaya.
