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EXTRAORDINARY
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PART II — Section 2
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PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY

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No. 24] NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2023/BHADRA 28, 1945 (SAKA)

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Separate paging is given to this Part in order that it may be filed as a separate compilation.

LOK SABHA

————

The following Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19th September, 2023:—

BILL NO. 124 OF 2023

A Bill further to amend the Constitution of India.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-fourth Year of the Republic of India as
follows:—
1. (1) This Act may be called the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Short title and
Amendment) Act, 2023. commencement.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification
in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. In article 239AA of the Constitution, in clause (2), after sub-clause (b), the following Amendment of
clauses shall be inserted, namely:— article 239AA.

“(ba) Seats shall be reserved for women in the Legislative Assembly of the
National Capital Territory of Delhi.
(bb) As nearly as may be, one-third of the seats reserved for the Scheduled
Castes in the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall be
reserved for women.
(bc) As nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of seats to be filled by
direct election in the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi
(including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes)
shall be reserved for women in such manner as Parliament may by law determine.”.
 2 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY [PART II—

Insertion of new 3. After article 330 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely:—
article 330A.
Reservation of “330A. (1) Seats shall be reserved for women in the House of the People.
seats for
women in the (2) As nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (2)
House of the of article 330 shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or the
People.
Scheduled Tribes.
(3) As nearly as may be, one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women
belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats
to be filled by direct election to the House of the People shall be reserved for women.”.
Insertion of new 4. After article 332 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely:—
article 332A.
Reservation of “332A. (1) Seats shall be reserved for women in the Legislative Assembly of
seats for women every State.
in the
Legislative (2) As nearly as may be, one-third of the total number of seats reserved under
Assemblies of clause (3) of article 332 shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled
the States.
Castes or the Scheduled Tribes.
(3) As nearly as may be, one-third (including the number of seats reserved for
women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) of the total number
of seats to be filled by direct election in the Legislative Assembly of every State shall
be reserved for women.”.
Insertion of new 5. After article 334 of the Constitution, the following article shall be inserted, namely:—
article 334A.
Reservation of “334A. (1) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provision of this Part or
seats for women Part VIII, the provisions of the Constitution relating to the reservation of seats for
take effect.
women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the
Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall come into effect
after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant
figures for the first census taken after commencement of the Constitution
(One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2023 have been published and
shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of fifteen years from such
commencement.
(2) Subject to the provisions of articles 239AA, 330A and 332A, seats reserved
for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the
Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall continue till such
date as the Parliament may by law determine.
(3) Rotation of seats reserved for women in the House of the People, the
Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital
Territory of Delhi shall take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation as
the Parliament may by law determine.
(4) Nothing in this article shall affect any representation in the House of the
People, the Legislative Assembly of a State or the Legislative Assembly of the National
Capital Territory of Delhi until the dissolution of the then existing House of the
People, Legislative Assembly of a State or the Legislative Assembly of the National
Capital Territory of Delhi.”.
Amendment not 6. The amendments made to the Constitution by the Constitution (One Hundred and
to affect
reservation in the Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2023 shall not affect any representation in the House of
House of the the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State or the Legislative Assembly of the National
People, the
Legislative Capital Territory of Delhi until the dissolution of the House of the People, the Legislative
Assembly of a Assembly of a State or the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi,
State or the
Legislative as the case may be, in existence at the commencement of the said Act.
Assembly of the
National Capital
Territory of Delhi.
SEC. 2] THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY 3

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

After completing 75 years of Independence, the nation has begun its journey into
Amritkal with a goal of becoming ‘Vikasit Bharat’ by 2047. Realisation of this goal will
require contribution of all sections of society in the spirit of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,
Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’. The role of women, constituting a half of the population, is
extremely important in realisation of this goal.
2. Government has taken a number of steps to bring ‘Nari Shakti’ to the forefront
through women’s empowerment and women led development resulting in substantial
improvement in financial independence of women and availability of equal access to education
and health. Government has also emphasised ‘Ease of Living’, especially of women, through
various initiatives including Ujjawala Yojana, access to toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission,
financial inclusion through the Mudra Yojna, etc. However, true empowerment of women
will require greater participation of women in the decision making process as they bring
different perspectives and enrich the quality of legislative debates and decision-making.
3. While women participate substantively in the Panchayat Raj institutions and
municipal bodies, their representation in the State Legislatures as well as in Parliament is
still limited, Providing for higher representation of women at State and National level has
also been a long pending demand. There have been several efforts to introduce women’s
reservation in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. The last such attempt was
made in 2010, when the Rajya Sabha had passed a Bill for women’s reservation, but the same
could not be passed in the Lok Sabha.
4. In order to enable greater participation of women as public representative in policy
making at State and National level, it is decided to introduce a fresh legislation for
Constitutional amendment to provide for, as nearly as may be, one-third of total seats in the
House of the People, the legislative assembly of every State and the Legislative Assembly
of the National Capital Territory of Delhi to be reserved for women.
5. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives.

New Delhi; ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL.

The 18th September, 2023.
 4 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY [PART II— SEC. 2]

FINANCIAL MEMORANDUM

The Bill, if enacted, is not likely to involve any expenditure, either recurring or
non-recurring, from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India.

——————

UTPAL KUMAR SINGH

Secretary-General.

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MGIPMRND—344GI(S3)—19-9-2023.
Date: 2023.09.20 01:19:40 +05'30'