Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2026

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty‑Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2026 seeks to overhaul India’s reservation architecture by inserting a dedicated women‑reservation clause into Article 342, which presently enumerates Scheduled Tribes (STs). By tying the new provision to the forthcoming delimitation exercise, the bill aims to create a constitutionally guaranteed 33 percent quota for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures, while preserving the existing ST and Scheduled Caste (SC) safeguards. Its novelty lies in the simultaneous expansion of gender‑based affirmative action and the re‑calibration of tribal representation, a combination not attempted in any prior amendment.

Historical Background

The reservation system traces its constitutional roots to Articles 330, 332 and 342, enacted in 1950 to ensure political voice for SCs, STs and other historically marginalized groups. The Women’s Reservation Bill, first tabled in 1996 and passed by the Lok Sabha in 1998, lapsed after the Rajya Sabha adjourned without a vote, leaving a legislative vacuum that subsequent governments have been unable to fill. Parallel to gender‑focused reforms, the Delimitation Commission—last constituted in 2002—has periodically redrawn constituency boundaries based on census data, most recently after the 2011 census; the next exercise is slated for after the 2026 census, providing a procedural window for the 128th amendment’s implementation.

Mechanism of the Proposed Amendment

Article 342 currently defines “Scheduled Tribes” as groups listed by the President after consultation with the Governor of the concerned state. The 128th Amendment Bill proposes to insert Clause (4) authorising the President to designate “Women Reserved Seats” within each ST‑populated constituency, to be allocated proportionally to the female ST population as recorded in the 2026 census. The amendment also mandates that the Delimitation Commission, when finalising the post‑census map, must earmark one‑third of all seats—both parliamentary and assembly—as women‑reserved, drawing from the newly created pool of ST‑women constituencies.

Key Provisions of the 128th Amendment Bill

1. •Amendment of Article 342 – Clause (4) adds: “(4) Notwithstanding any other provision, a seat shall be reserved for a woman belonging to a Scheduled Tribe in any constituency where the proportion of such population exceeds 15 percent.”
2. •Reservation Ratio – Section 3 stipulates a uniform 33 percent reservation for women across the Lok Sabha (543 seats) and all state legislative assemblies, translating to 179 seats in the lower house and variable numbers in states depending on assembly size.
3. •Delimitation Linkage – Section 5 requires the Delimitation Commission to publish a “Women‑Reservation Schedule” alongside the ordinary delimitation order, with a statutory deadline of six months after the census release.
4. •Transitional Arrangements – Section 7 provides a five‑year grace period during which existing ST‑reserved seats continue unchanged, after which the new women‑reserved seats become operative for the 2029 general elections.

Current Legislative Journey

The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 12 August 2026 by the Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju, and received first‑reading approval with a majority of 285 votes. It was referred to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, which submitted a report on 3 December 2026 recommending minor wording adjustments but endorsing the core reservation framework. As of March 2027, the Rajya Sabha debate is scheduled for the summer session, with opposition parties demanding a separate women‑only reservation bill rather than the combined ST‑women model.

Significance and Expected Impact

If enacted, the amendment would make India the first large democracy to constitutionally bind gender‑based reservation to the delimitation cycle, ensuring that women’s representation scales with demographic shifts. By embedding a 33 percent quota within the constitutional text, the bill seeks to overcome the legislative inertia that has stalled the Women’s Reservation Bill for three decades. Critics argue that coupling women’s seats with ST categories could dilute the intended empowerment of non‑tribal women, while proponents contend that the approach maximises the use of existing reservation infrastructure and accelerates gender parity in legislatures. Regardless of the outcome, the 128th Amendment Bill marks a pivotal moment in the nation’s ongoing negotiation of social justice, electoral reform, and constitutional evolution.