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Constitution of India · Part XVI: Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes · Reservation of seats for women in the Legislative Assemblies of

Article 334: 334A

In plain words

The reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People and State Assemblies ends eighty years after the start of the Constitution. Nomination of Anglo-Indian members ended after seventy years. Existing members continue until their House is dissolved.

  • Reservation of seats for women in the House of the People, State Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly starts after a delimitation based on the first census after the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023.
  • It lasts fifteen years from that Act's commencement, and Parliament can extend it by law.
  • Seats reserved for women rotate after each later delimitation, as Parliament provides by law.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Part, the provisions of this Constitution relating to—

(a) the reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies of the States; and

(b) the representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies of the States by nomination, shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of [eighty years in respect of clause (a) and seventy years in respect of clause (b)] from the commencement of this Constitution:

Provided that nothing in this article shall affect any representation in the House of the People or in the Legislative Assembly of a State until the dissolution of the then existing House or Assembly, as the case may be. [334A. Reservation of seats for women take effect. — (1) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provision of this Part or Part VIII, the provisions of the Constitution relating to the reservation of seats for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 have been published and shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of fifteen years from such commencement.

(2) Subject to the provisions of articles 239AA, 330A and 332A, seats reserved for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall continue till such date as the Parliament may by law determine.

(3) Rotation of seats reserved for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall take effect after each subsequent exercise of delimitation as the Parliament may by law determine.

(4) Nothing in this article shall affect any representation in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State or the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi until the dissolution of the then existing House of the People, Legislative Assembly of a State or the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.]

Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the official text of the Constitution of India. As amended up to the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023. Text as on 10 September 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the article 334