Women’s quota law comes into effect in UTs of J&K, Puducherry | India News
New Delhi: After announcing on April 16, 2026, the date from which the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 – one-third seats in the House of the People and the Assemblies of the Union Territory of Delhi would be reserved for women – will not come into force from April 20, Friday. From the date on which the provision of quota for women in the relevant legislation for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir PuducherryEnacted in 2023, will come into force.MHA has issued a gazette notification for this purpose.Parliament enacted the Constitution Amendment Act of 2023 to pave the way for women’s reservation in the House of the People, each state assembly and the Delhi Assembly.
Similar provisions for reservation for women in the Legislative Assemblies of Puducherry and J&K were made through the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Act, 2023 and the J&K Reorganization (Second Amendment) Act, respectively.On Friday, however, three bills — the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Limitation Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Act (Amendment) Bill, 20226 — aimed at protecting women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies were defeated in the Lok Sabha.The Constitution Amendment Act of 2023 and related amendments for J&K and Puducherry provided that reservation to women would come into effect after the first limitation based on the relevant census after the commencement of the Act. The relevant exercise will be Census 2027, scheduled from April 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027.
