The Constitution (81st Amendment) Bill, 1996

The 81st Amendment Bill, 1996 proposed one-third reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies, building on earlier local body reforms.

The Constitution (81st Amendment) Bill, 1996 — Reservation for Women in Legislatures

Syllabus: Constitution (UPSC GS II)

Context:

After introducing one-third reservation for women in Panchayats (73rd Amendment) and Municipalities (74th Amendment), the Government proposed extending similar reservation to Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies. This led to the introduction of the Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment) Bill, 1996.

To understand the wider framework of reservation policy, it is relevant to note that subsequent constitutional amendments also strengthened reservation provisions. For instance, the 81st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2000 inserted Clause (4B) in Article 16, allowing the Government to carry forward unfilled reserved vacancies for SCs, STs, and OBCs¹ from previous years. This highlighted the continued legislative effort to improve representation of disadvantaged groups.

Key Provisions of the 81st Amendment Bill

1. Reservation for Women in Lok Sabha

The Bill proposed insertion of Article 330A, providing:

One-third reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha.
One-third of the seats already reserved for SCs/STs under Article 330 to be reserved for SC/ST women.
Reservation to be implemented through rotation among constituencies.
Exemption for States/UTs that have less than three seats in the Lok Sabha.

2. Reservation for Women in State Legislative Assemblies

A new Article 332A was proposed to:

Reserve one-third of the total seats in all State Assemblies for women.
Reserve one-third of SC/ST-reserved seats for women from these communities.
Implement rotational reservation among constituencies.
Exempt States having less than three Assembly seats.

3. Non-Interference with Existing Houses

The Bill clarified that these amendments would not affect the current Lok Sabha or State Assemblies.
The changes would apply only after their dissolution.

Statement of Objects and Reasons

After women’s reservation in local bodies through the 73rd and 74th Amendments, the next logical step was to ensure women’s representation in legislatures.
Major political parties supported this move.
The Bill aimed to ensure greater gender equality and political empowerment at the national and state levels.