Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 — Defeat, Delimitation & Women’s Reservation.

Why was the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the news?

The Bill, which sought to enable delimitation based on the 2011 Census and fast-track women's reservation, was defeated in the Lok Sabha on 17 April 2026.

What was the outcome of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026?

It failed to secure the constitutionally required special majority in the Lok Sabha and was defeated.

On what date was the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 defeated?

17 April 2026.

How many Lok Sabha members voted in favour of the 131st Amendment Bill?

298 members voted in favour.

How many Lok Sabha members voted against the 131st Amendment Bill?

230 members voted against it.

Why did the 131st Amendment Bill fail despite receiving 298 votes in favour?

A constitutional amendment required a special majority: a majority of the total membership plus at least two-thirds of members present and voting; the Bill fell short of the required threshold.

How many members were present and voting when the constitutional amendment was considered?

528 members were present and voting.

What was the two-thirds requirement among members present and voting for the Bill?

Two-thirds of 528 members required 352 votes in favour.

What was the numerical shortfall in the vote on the 131st Amendment Bill?

The Bill received 298 votes in favour, falling 54 votes short of the required 352 votes among members present and voting.

Which constitutional provision governs the procedure for constitutional amendments?

Article 368 of the Constitution governs constitutional amendments.

What additional requirement applies to constitutional amendments affecting federal provisions such as Articles 81, 82, 170 and 334A?

Such amendments require ratification by at least half of the State Legislatures in addition to the special majority in Parliament.

What happened to the two companion Bills after the constitutional amendment was defeated?

The government withdrew the Delimitation Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which were linked to the constitutional amendment.

What was the purpose of the Delimitation Bill, 2026?

It was intended to provide the statutory mechanism for operationalising the constitutional changes proposed by the 131st Amendment and establishing a new Delimitation Commission.

What was the purpose of the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026?

It sought to extend the proposed delimitation and women's-reservation framework to Union Territories having their own legislatures, particularly Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry.

What was the principal objective of the defeated 131st Amendment Bill?

To enable earlier implementation of women's reservation by linking a new delimitation exercise to the 2011 Census rather than waiting for the post-2026 Census process.

What expansion of the Lok Sabha was proposed by the 131st Amendment Bill?

It proposed increasing the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850 members.

How were the proposed 850 Lok Sabha seats to be divided?

815 seats were proposed for States and 35 seats for Union Territories.

Which constitutional provision was proposed to be amended for the Lok Sabha seat expansion?

Article 81 was proposed to be amended to enable the expansion and restructuring of Lok Sabha representation.

What major change regarding Census-based delimitation did the Bill propose?

It sought to make the 2011 Census usable for the new delimitation exercise and decouple delimitation from the post-2026 Census process.

What did the Bill propose regarding readjustment of Lok Sabha seats after every Census?

It proposed removing the requirement of readjusting Lok Sabha seat numbers after every Census, thereby separating seat allocation from the conventional post-Census cycle.

What corresponding constitutional provision governs State Legislative Assembly seat readjustment?

Article 170 governs the composition and readjustment of territorial constituencies for State Legislative Assemblies.

What did the 131st Amendment propose regarding SC/ST reservation?

It proposed corresponding changes concerning reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in legislatures, with the Census reference being changed according to the new framework.

What provision was proposed to be changed to enable immediate implementation of women's reservation?

Article 334A, inserted by the 106th Constitutional Amendment, was proposed to be modified so that women's reservation could operate after the proposed delimitation rather than waiting for the existing delayed framework.

What percentage of seats are reserved for women under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam?

One-third, or 33%, of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies are reserved for women.

Does the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam provide a separate quota for OBC women?

No. The 106th Constitutional Amendment does not provide a separate reservation for women belonging to the Other Backward Classes.

What sub-quota does the women's reservation framework provide for SC/ST women?

One-third of the seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are to be reserved for women belonging to those categories.

How are constituencies reserved for women intended to be handled over time?

The constituencies reserved for women are to be rotated after subsequent delimitation exercises so that the same constituencies are not permanently reserved.

For how long is women's reservation under the 106th Amendment initially valid?

It is valid for 15 years from the commencement of the relevant reservation provisions, subject to extension by Parliament.

When was the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam enacted?

It was enacted through the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023.

Which constitutional Articles were inserted by the 106th Amendment for women's reservation?

Articles 330A, 332A, 334A and Article 239AA was amended to provide the framework for women's reservation in Parliament, State Assemblies and the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

What does Article 330A provide?

It provides reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha.

What does Article 332A provide?

It provides reservation of seats for women in State Legislative Assemblies.

What does Article 239AA deal with in the women's-reservation framework?

It provides the constitutional framework for reservation of seats for women in the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

What does Article 334A deal with?

It establishes the constitutional framework for the commencement, duration and operation of women's reservation following the required delimitation process.

Why had women's reservation under the 106th Amendment not become immediately operational?

Its implementation was constitutionally tied to the completion of a Census followed by delimitation, making actual reservation dependent on those processes.

What was the original expected timeline for implementation of the women's reservation according to the material?

Under the original framework, actual implementation was expected only after the first delimitation following the relevant Census, potentially pushing effective reservation to around 2034.

How many women were in the 18th Lok Sabha according to the chapter?

There were 74 women MPs, approximately 14% of the Lok Sabha.

How many women members were in the Rajya Sabha according to the chapter?

There were 82 women members, approximately 15.2% of the Rajya Sabha.

What was the approximate average representation of women in State Legislative Assemblies?

Women constituted only around 9% of the total membership of State Legislative Assemblies.

What does Panchayati Raj demonstrate about women's political representation?

Panchayati Raj institutions have achieved nearly 46% women's representation, showing that substantially higher participation is possible where effective reservation mechanisms operate.

What is the constitutional basis for women's reservation in Panchayats?

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 inserted Part IX and provides for women's reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions.

Which Article requires at least one-third of Panchayat seats to be reserved for women?

Article 243D requires not less than one-third of the total seats in Panchayats to be reserved for women.

Does the Panchayati Raj women's quota include SC/ST women?

Yes. The one-third women's reservation includes seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Does the Constitution require reservation of Panchayat chairperson offices for women?

Yes. At least one-third of chairperson offices in Panchayats must be reserved for women.

Can States provide more than one-third reservation for women in Panchayats?

Yes. The constitutional one-third requirement is a minimum, and several States have increased women's reservation in Panchayats to 50%.

What is delimitation?

Delimitation is the process of redrawing territorial constituency boundaries so that constituencies contain roughly equal numbers of voters and representation reflects demographic changes.

Which constitutional Articles form the core basis of delimitation for Parliament and State Assemblies?

Article 82 governs readjustment of Lok Sabha seats and constituencies after a Census, while Article 170 provides for corresponding readjustment of State Assembly constituencies.

What constitutional amendment originally created the freeze on inter-State Lok Sabha seat allocation?

The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 froze inter-State seat allocation based on the 1971 Census.

Why was the 42nd Amendment's seat freeze introduced?

It was intended to prevent States that had successfully implemented population-control measures from being politically penalised through loss of parliamentary representation.

Which Constitutional Amendment extended the seat-allocation freeze until after the first Census following 2026?

The 84th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2001 extended the freeze until the first Census after 2026.

When were Delimitation Commissions constituted in India according to the chapter's historical timeline?

Delimitation Commissions were constituted in 1952, 1962/1963, 1973 and 2002.

Why was no Delimitation Commission constituted after the 1981 Census?

The existing constitutional freeze prevented the normal population-based reallocation of parliamentary seats, so no fresh Delimitation Commission was constituted after the 1981 Census.

What is the composition of the Delimitation Commission described in the chapter?

It is headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and includes the Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner nominated by them and the State Election Commissioners of the concerned States.

What is the status of Delimitation Commission orders under the proposed framework?

They carry the force of law and are generally protected from judicial challenge, although the Supreme Court has recognized limited review where an order is clearly arbitrary or violates constitutional values.

Which Supreme Court case is mentioned regarding limited review of Delimitation Commission orders?

Kishorichandra Chhanganlal Rathod Case, 2024, in which the Court indicated that a Delimitation Commission order may be reviewed if it is clearly arbitrary or violates constitutional values.

What is the major federal concern behind the defeat of the 131st Amendment Bill?

Southern and northeastern States feared that population-based delimitation would reduce their relative political representation after decades of successful population control, while high-population northern States would gain seats.

What did the government claim regarding the distribution of Lok Sabha seats among States?

The government maintained that States would receive a broadly uniform increase of around 50% in Lok Sabha seats, although the Opposition argued that the Bill's statutory language did not legally guarantee this.

What was the projected southern States' share in an expanded Lok Sabha of approximately 816 seats?

Projections cited in the material placed the southern States' collective share at around 23.8%, compared with their existing share of about 23.76%, suggesting little overall decline under that projection.

Which southern States were specifically discussed in the seat projections?

Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, along with Kerala in the broader southern-state discussion.

What demographic argument did high-growth northern States present in favour of population-based delimitation?

States such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have experienced substantial population growth, so population-based representation would increase their parliamentary representation.

What Total Fertility Rate figures are mentioned for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh?

Bihar is cited with a Total Fertility Rate of about 3.0, while Uttar Pradesh is cited at about 2.4.

What was the Opposition's principal demand regarding women's reservation?

The Opposition wanted the 33% women's reservation to be implemented immediately on the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats rather than making it conditional on a new delimitation exercise.

What two conditions did senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal reportedly place before the government for consensus?

He sought an explicit guarantee of proportional representation for all States in the Bill and wanted women's reservation formally delinked from the delimitation process through a separate amendment.

How did Home Minister Amit Shah respond to the demand to delink women's reservation from delimitation?

He rejected the demand to delink the two, describing it as a potential "trap", while offering an alternative proposal involving a uniform 50% increase in seats.

What was the government's stated position on implementing 33% women's reservation?

The government stated that it aimed to implement the 33% reservation by 2029 through a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.

Which major constitutional procedure caused the Bill to require a special majority?

Under Article 368, a constitutional amendment requires a majority of the total membership of the House and at least two-thirds of members present and voting; amendments affecting specified federal provisions also require ratification by at least half the States.

Which constitutional principle is associated with Article 81 in relation to seat allocation?

Article 81 embodies the principle that parliamentary representation should broadly correspond to population, subject to constitutional exceptions including States with populations below six million.

What is the key CLAT distinction between the 131st Amendment Bill and the Delimitation Bill, 2026?

The 131st Amendment Bill was the constitutional amendment seeking to change the constitutional framework, while the Delimitation Bill was the ordinary enabling legislation intended to operationalise those constitutional changes.

What happened to the 131st Amendment Bill and its linked Bills after the 17 April 2026 vote?

The 131st Amendment Bill was defeated for failing to secure the required constitutional majority, after which the government withdrew the linked Delimitation Bill and Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill.