Parliament on Monday passed two crucial Bills —Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Government of Union Territories (amendment)  Bill 2023– that among other things extend Women’s reservation in J&K and Puducherry Assemblies.

The two Bills were moved for Consideration and Passage by the Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai. Both the Bills were passed by the Upper House through voice vote amid protests and slogan shouting in the Rajya Sabha by the Opposition MPs over the December 13 Parliament security breach.

The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill

The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill 2023 seeks to reserve one-third of all elected seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly for women. This Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 12, 2023.  

The reservation for women will also apply to the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the J&K Assembly..

The reservation will be effective once the census conducted after the commencement of this Bill has been published.  Based on the census, delimitation will be undertaken to reserve seats for women.  The reservation will be in place for 15 years.  

However, it will continue till such date as determined by a law made by Parliament.  The Constitution bars delimitation before the first census post 2026.

Also, the new law on J&K provides that seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation, as determined by a law made by Parliament. 

Similarly, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2023 reserves one third of all elected seats in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly for women. Both the Bills were passed in the lower house last week.

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