New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain pleas against the delimitation clause in the 2023 Nari Shakti Vandan Act, which reserves one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
The matter came up before a bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and P B Varale. The bench was hearing a plea filed by one Jaya Thakur and the other petition by the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), under Article 32 of the Constitution.
The bench said that Thakur's petition challenged the bill, which had become the Act, and the other petition filed by NFIW challenged the delimitation clause of the law.
The bench said it was not keen to entertain the petitions. The bench dismissed Thakur's petition saying it has become infructuous. Regarding the NFIW’s plea, the bench said that it was not willing to entertain it and asked the organisation to move to either the high court or any other appropriate forum.
The NFIW challenged the constitutional validity of Article 334A (1) or Clause 5 of the 2023 Act where it rendered delimitation of constituencies a prerequisite to the implementation of the Act.
While hearing Thakur’s plea in November 2023, the apex court had said it would be "very difficult" for the court to strike down a part of the women's reservation law which would come into effect after the census. The top court did not issue notice on Thakur’s plea but rather asked the counsel to serve the copy on the lawyer representing the Centre.