Article 334-A is a provision of the Constitution of India, inserted by the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023, also known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. It was created to address the underrepresentation of women in legislative bodies by providing a mechanism for implementing the new reservation for women. The provision mandates that the reservation of seats for women in the House of the People (Lok Sabha), the Legislative Assembly of a State, and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall come into effect only after a delimitation exercise is completed. This delimitation must be undertaken after the relevant figures from the first census published following the commencement of the 106th Amendment Act, 2023, are available.
The article functions as a sunset clause for the women's reservation, stipulating that the provisions will cease to have effect after the expiration of a period of fifteen years from their commencement. It connects directly to the newly inserted Articles 330A and 332A, which provide for the reservation of one-third of the seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, respectively. The mechanism ensures that the reservation, which includes a one-third horizontal reservation for women within the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, will be implemented based on the redrawing of constituencies following the next census. The original Article 334 is a related concept, as it contains the sunset clause for the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the special representation of the Anglo-Indian community. The insertion of Article 334-A is a recent change, establishing the delayed implementation and time limit for the women's reservation, while the core reservation provisions are in Articles 330A and 332A.