The Nagaland government has informed the Supreme Court that a bill proposing a 33 percent reservation for women in urban local bodies has been introduced in the state assembly. On September 12, the Nagaland Assembly decided to refer the Nagaland Municipal Bill, 2023, to the Select Committee for further deliberation.
Urban local body elections in the state have been overdue, with the last polls taking place in 2004. The state government informed the apex court that this progress was achieved “in consultation with the tribal heads of 16 major tribes and seven minor tribes on September 1, 2023,” who have all endorsed the concept of one-third reservation for women.
The advocate general of Nagaland informed a bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia that the matter has been referred to the Select Committee. The bench, in its September 26 order, noted that the advocate general “requests for a deferment after the first week of November 2023, by which time he is hopeful that the Legislative Assembly will pass the bill.”
The top court was hearing a petition filed by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties and others, seeking 33 percent reservation for women in local body elections.
In its order, the top court bench mentioned that the advocate general had indicated the intention to provide a “blueprint and schedule of how the election will be carried out” after the bill is passed.
“(The) advocate general, on behalf of the state of Nagaland, submits that the bill has been introduced on September 12, 2023, the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2023, which provides for 33 percent reservation for women in terms of Article 243T in the urban local bodies,” the apex court stated.
The bench has scheduled the matter for further hearing on November 10.
Earlier, on July 25, the apex court criticized both the Centre and the Nagaland government for not implementing the constitutional scheme of one-third reservation for women in civic body elections in the northeastern state.
Nagaland has a coalition government led by the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, with the BJP as a partner in the ruling dispensation.
The apex court clarified that it was not interfering with Nagaland’s customary laws.
“We may only state that the personal laws of Nagaland and even the special status under Article 371A(1) of the Constitution is not being touched in any manner. This is a state where education, economic participation, and social status of women are one of the best,” it noted.
“Thus, our concern is as to why something as simple as giving them at least one-third representation in municipal governance should not be welcomed, and action should not be taken in that regard,” the top court said.
On April 5, the apex court stayed a March 30 notification canceling elections to the urban local bodies in Nagaland, which were scheduled for May 16. Following pressure from tribal organizations and civil society groups, the Nagaland Assembly passed a resolution to repeal the municipal act and resolved not to hold the elections.
On March 30, the State Election Commission issued a notification canceling the poll schedule “till further orders” due to the repeal of the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001.
The petitioners filed an application before the top court against the election cancellation and urged it to take contempt action for “disobeying” its earlier order.
Apart from seeking the quashing of the March 30 notification canceling the election schedule issued by the State Election Commission, the application also aims to annul the Nagaland Municipal (Repeal) Act, 2023.
The State Election Commission had previously announced elections for the 39 urban local bodies in the state. Of these, 39 urban local bodies, Kohima, Dimapur, and Mokokchung have municipal councils, while the rest have town councils.
Several Naga tribal bodies and civil society organizations had opposed the urban local body elections under the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2001, claiming that it violated the special rights for Nagaland guaranteed by Article 371-A of the Constitution.
The 2001 Act, which was later amended, mandated a 33 percent reservation of seats for women for urban local body elections, as directed by the Supreme Court.
