The Supreme Court of India has refused to entertain a plea filed by an advocate, Yogamaya MG, urging for the urgent and time-bound implementation of the Women's Reservation Law. The law, officially known as the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, mandates a 33 percent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies. The plea was aimed at ensuring the swift enforcement of this law in the upcoming general elections.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta declined to hear the plea but granted the petitioner the liberty to file an intervention petition in a pending Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur. The court expressed its concern about avoiding a multiplicity of litigation in the matter and suggested that Yogamaya file an intervention application in Thakur's petition.

The counsel representing Yogamaya requested the court to allow the petitioner to withdraw the plea, which the bench agreed to, permitting the withdrawal of the petition. The PIL filed by Jaya Thakur is expected to be listed for hearing on January 16.

Yogamaya's petition highlighted the urgency of implementing the Women's Reservation Act, 2023, in a timely manner, asserting that without expeditious action, the intended benefits for women in the political arena might be lost. The petitioner emphasized that the law was passed with uncertainty in its implementation and sought the intervention of the court to ensure the constitutional mandate of fair representation for women is realized promptly.

The Women's Reservation Law, once implemented, will reserve one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women. However, the law will not be immediately enforced; it will come into effect after a new census is conducted, following which delimitation will be undertaken to reserve seats for women.