Will complete urban polls with 33% quota for women by Apr 31: Nagaland Govt to SC

The contentious issue of reservation of seats for women has stalled urban local body polls in the northeastern state for around two decades

A day after the Nagaland Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill which had 33% reservation for women in urban local bodies, the state government undertook before the Supreme Court to complete the election process and declare results by April 31, 2024.

The municipal polls in the state were last held in 2004. (Representative file image)

The contentious issue of reservation of seats for women has stalled urban local body polls in the northeastern state for around two decades.

Appearing before a bench led by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, the state government recorded an undertaking that the required rules under the 2023 Nagaland Municipal Bill will be framed within a month and the election process shall be concluded by April 31.

The bench, which also comprised justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, took on record the statements of state’s advocate general KN Balagopal, fixed the next hearing of the matter on December 11, saying the northeastern state is expected to frame the rules by the next date.

Calling the development “good news”, the bench also commented that the state government has finally seemed to move forward instead of going backward.

“We remember you made a complete U-turn after making a statement on reservation. Your conduct was not overboard at the time,” the bench told the state’s law officer.

The top court’s comment referred to the flip-flop by the Nagaland government while responding to a petition filed by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) in the Supreme Court in 2016. It was while hearing this matter, the top court passed a string of orders directing the state to give effect to the constitutional mandate on reserving seats for women in urban local bodies. The court wondered how in a state where women are empowered in all respects are being denied entry in urban bodies.

Reservation to women in urban local bodies is part of the Indian Constitution and was introduced in 1992 when Part IX-A was introduced by a constitutional amendment. However, in the context of Nagaland, for a constitutional provision to apply to the state, a resolution must be passed by the state assembly.

In 2001, the Nagaland Municipal Act was passed and in 2006, reservation for women in urban local bodies was introduced. But in September 2012, the Nagaland assembly passed a resolution not to give effect to Part IX-A. Though the Assembly later withdrew the resolution in November 2016, the same was not implemented due to opposition by state tribal leaders who even indulged in large scale violence to block the cause of women reservation. In March this year, the state government repealed the 2001 Act.

The state took the defence under Article 371A, a provision in the Constitution which relates to special provisions for Nagaland. This provision seeks to protect the Naga customary law and procedure along with their social, religious and other rights, making a resolution by the state assembly mandatory for implementing any provision of Constitution that touches on any of the subjects under Article 371A.

The state further canvassed an argument that the implementation of Part IXA will lead to an “anomalous” situation as women in urban local bodies will get reservation while those in villages, governed by Panchayati Raj institutions, will be denied the benefit. This was because the operation of Panchayats under Part IX of the Constitution is specifically excluded for Nagaland by Article 243M of the Constitution.

But the apex court remained firm in its order since February 2022 that “an important issue of gender equality was getting postponed” as the state government assured the court that they will give effect to the 2001 Act for reserving seats for women.

In March, the state election commission (SEC) notified elections to municipal bodies on the basis of the 2001 Act, but the government repealed the Act in the same month, leading to cancellation of the municipal elections proposed to be held in April.

Incensed, on April 17, the court issued notices to Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, state chief secretary and tribal leaders in the state for repealing the 2001 Act and violating the undertaking given to the court for rolling out 33% reservation for women in local bodies.

On July 25, the court gave a final opportunity for the state to act by September 26, warning that it would step in if the matter stood unresolved. Following this diktat, the state introduced the bill in the assembly on September 10, which was finally cleared on Thursday.

After the passage of the bill, CM Rio said that the new law, which the state is going to have, is not the end but only a beginning and that time has come for women to participate and perform in the administration of the urban local bodies.

“We have traversed a long and chequered path in reaching where we are today. The objection to ULB elections, unfortunately, became a matter concerning our customary practices; and in this journey, we were sandwiched between the voice of the people who elected us and the mandate of the Constitution which has to be complied with. Our topmost priority, however, has always remained to ensure that our issues are amicably sorted through peaceful means and without violence. And to a great extent, we have succeeded in our venture,” he added.

The 2023 Nagaland Municipal Bill 2023, however, has done away with women’s reservation for the post of chairperson in municipal bodies. The municipal polls in the state were last held in 2004.