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The Constitution, Made Understandable.

Article 243T

Reservation for SCs, STs, and Women in Municipalities

Official heading: “Reservation of seats”

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The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
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Part IXA, Article 243T, printed pages 131–132
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1. In One Sentence

Mandates demographic reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and not less than one-third reservation for women in municipal wards and Mayoral offices.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 243T mirrors the progressive affirmative action framework of Article 243D for urban local governance.

Seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population in the municipal area, rotated across different wards.

Not less than one-third of all municipal seats (including SC/ST reserved seats) must be reserved for women. Furthermore, offices of Chairpersons and Mayors must also be reserved for SCs, STs, and women as provided by State law.

State Legislatures may also provide statutory reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

In a city corporation with 100 ward councillors, at least 34 wards are reserved for women councillors, and the Mayoral post is rotated to a woman mayor.

Core takeaway: Article 243T guarantees gender and social justice in urban leadership across all Indian cities and towns.
Illustrative Notice: The constitutional minimum is one-third, but several States have enhanced women’s reservation to 50% in city councils.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 243T ensures equitable social and gender representation in municipal councils.

  • Mandatory women quota: At least 33.3% of all ward seats and chairperson positions.
  • Proportional SC/ST quota: Aligned with local urban demographic percentages.
  • Rotation mechanism: Prevents permanent reservation of specific geographical wards.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) Seats shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in every Municipality and the number of seats so reserved shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in that Municipality as the population of the Scheduled Castes in the Municipal area or of the Scheduled Tribes in the Municipal area bears to the total population of that area and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality. (2) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (1) shall be reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes. (3) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes) of the total number of seats to be filled by direct election in every Municipality shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Municipality. (4) The offices of Chairpersons in the Municipalities shall be reserved for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and women in such manner as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide. (5) The reservation of seats under clauses (1) and (2) and the reservation of offices of Chairpersons (other than the reservation for women) under clause (4) shall cease to have effect on the expiration of the period specified in article 334. (6) Nothing in this Part shall prevent the Legislature of a State from making any provision for reservation of seats in any Municipality or offices of Chairpersons in the Municipalities in favour of backward class of citizens.
Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata
  • •
    Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
    Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part IXA, Article 243T, printed pages 131–132 • Human source-link check pending

    Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource

Related Constitutional Articles to Explore:

Go to ARTICLE 15 →Go to ARTICLE 16 →Go to ARTICLE 243D →Go to ARTICLE 243Q →