While Thakur’s plea was dismissed as infructuous, the court was not inclined to examine NFIW’s plea under Article 32 saying it could move the high court or any other appropriate forum.The NFIW challenged the constitutional validity of Article 334A (1) or Clause 5 of the 2023 Act where it rendered delimitation of constituencies a prerequisite to the implementation of the Act.On November 3, 2023, the top court while hearing Thakur’s plea said it would be “very difficult” for the court to strike down a part of the women’s reservation law which would come into effect after the census.It refused to issue a notice on Thakur’s plea and asked the counsel for the petitioner to serve the copy on the lawyer representing the Centre.On September 21, 2023, the watershed bill to reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women received the parliamentary nod.The constitutional amendment bill was passed by the Lok Sabha with near unanimity and the Rajya Sabha with unanimity.The law would take some time before implementation as the next census and the subsequent delimitation exercise — redrawing of Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies — would ascertain the particular seats being earmarked for women.
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