India Explained
StalledJDH. D. Deve Gowda, coalition government

Women's Reservation Bill, first introduction 1996 (81st Amendment Bill)

The United Front government introduced the first Constitution amendment bill to reserve one-third of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats for women in September 1996; it was referred to a joint committee and lapsed.

Women's reservation

Facts

  • The Constitution (81st Amendment) Bill, 1996 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 12 September 1996 and referred to a Joint Committee of both Houses chaired by Geeta Mukherjee [1][3].
  • The Committee presented its report to the Lok Sabha on 9 December 1996 and made seven recommendations [3][4].
  • The 1996 bill lapsed on dissolution of the Lok Sabha; similar bills in 1998 and 1999 also lapsed [2].
  • Five of the seven recommendations were included in the 2008 bill, including a 15-year duration; reservation in the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Councils and sub-reservation for OBC women were left out [2].
  • Two Samajwadi Party members, Virender Bhatia and Shailendra Kumar, dissented, saying they supported reservation but objected to the drafting [2][3].
  • The 2008 bill passed the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but lapsed in 2014; the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 enacted one-third reservation, which becomes operative only after a census and delimitation [4].

Why

Reasons given by those who did it

  • The Joint Committee rejected a mandatory party nomination quota because parties could field women in seats they were likely to lose, and rejected dual-member constituencies because it feared they could leave women in a subservient position [2].
  • The Standing Committee that examined the 2008 bill said its majority recommended passing it and acting on it without further delay [2].

Criticism of that reasoning

  • The SP, RJD and JD(U) opposed the bill as drafted, with the SP dissenters proposing that each party give 20% of tickets to women, a cap of 20% of seats, and a quota for OBC and minority women [2].

Benefits and concerns

Benefits (2)

  • Put reservation for women in legislatures onto the parliamentary agenda through a constitutional bill examined by a joint committee.Referral to the Geeta Mukherjee committee and its report of December 1996 [3].
  • The committee's recommendations were reused in later bills, including the 2008 bill.Five of seven recommendations carried into the 2008 bill [2].

Concerns (2)

  • The bill did not become law; it lapsed in 1996-97 and again in later Lok Sabhas, with enactment only in 2023.Lapse of bills in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2014 [2][4].
  • Disagreement over sub-quotas and design persisted across parties.SP dissent and the OBC sub-quota dispute [2][3][4].

Evidence points

−2.0
points, mean of two scorers (scale −25 to +25)
−3 to −1
range between the two scorers' totals
Medium confidence
1 criterion where scorers differ
ReachHow many people did the action materially affect?
Mean 0.0A 0B 0
Outcome evidenceDo official or independent data show the intended result (or its opposite), compared with the era baseline and peers?
Mean 0.0A 0B 0
Cost and sustainabilityIs the fiscal cost proportionate, and is the effect durable?
Mean 0.0A 0B 0
Process and rightsWas it made with debate, consultation and legal soundness, and did it respect rights and court rulings?
Mean +1.0A +1B +1
DeliveryWas it implemented as announced, on time and at scale?
Mean −3.0A −2B −4Scorers differ

Positive meanNegative meanScorer AScorer B

Scorer A. The bill lapsed without enactment, though the joint committee's report fed later bills.

Scorer B. Bill lapsed without enactment, so no direct effect; committee report was later reused but delivery in 1996 failed.

Context used when scoring

Era baseline
In 1996 Parliament had a small share of women members and a minority coalition government held office, as the first Lok Sabha after the 1996 election was unstable.
Lag before outcomes show
27 years
Shocks considered
lok-sabha-dissolutions
Uncertainty
Medium confidence. Scorer totals are −1 and −3. How uncertainty is shown.

In depth

The 81st Amendment Bill of 1996 was the first of several Constitution amendment bills proposing to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. It was introduced on 12 September 1996 and was referred to a Joint Committee of Parliament, chaired by Geeta Mukherjee, which reported on 9 December 1996.

The committee examined alternatives such as party quotas for nominations and dual-member constituencies and rejected both. Two Samajwadi Party members dissented on the drafting. Later bills in 1998 and 1999 lapsed with the dissolution of their Lok Sabhas, and the 2008 bill, which carried over five of the committee’s seven recommendations, passed the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but lapsed in 2014.

In 2023 Parliament enacted the 106th Amendment, which reserves about one-third of seats but becomes operative only after delimitation following a census. Because this entry records the 1996 introduction, which did not itself become law, its status is shown as stalled; the later enactment is described only as context. The share of women in the Lok Sabha over the period was not verified here.

Sources

  1. The Constitution (81st Amendment) Bill, 1996
    PRS Legislative ResearchPrimary
  2. Update on the Women's Reservation Bill
    PRS Legislative ResearchOfficial data

Last reviewed .Report an error orchallenge a score.

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