Women's reservation on a society committee — 2 seats (154B-21)

Many societies assume the committee is simply whoever the members vote in. In fact, in a society whose members are individuals two committee seats are reserved for women, and the law fixes that number. Knowing the rule helps at nomination time and when you count heads for a meeting.

What the provision says

Section 154B-21 says that, notwithstanding anything in the Act, the rules or any society's bye-laws, there shall be two seats reserved for women, to represent the women members, on the committee of each society consisting of individuals as members and having members from such class or category of persons. The section does not explain what that class or category means. Any individual woman member of the society can contest a reserved seat. So can a woman member of the committee of a member-society, whether she was elected, co-opted or nominated. The section does not apply to the committee of a society whose members are exclusively women.

Section 154B-22 adds a quorum rule. Until members of the reserved categories are available or elected to fill the reserved seats, those seats "shall not be counted" for the strength of the committee when working out the quorum.

What it means in practice

Suppose a committee has a strength of 11, including the two women's seats, and both of those seats are vacant because no eligible woman member was elected. For quorum, the committee's strength is counted as 9, not 11. The vacant reserved seats do not make it harder to hold a valid meeting.

The moment a woman member is elected to one of those seats, that seat counts again. Because the section operates notwithstanding anything in the Act, the rules or any society's bye-laws, a bye-law providing for fewer than two reserved seats cannot prevail over it. A society whose members are exclusively women has no reserved seats to fill on its committee, because the section does not apply to it. For how election disputes are handled in court, see our note on the voters' list ruling.

What your committee should do

1. 1Before the election, ask the returning officer to confirm that the notice of election and the nomination papers reflect the two seats reserved for women.
2. 2Tell eligible women members that they can contest a reserved seat, and that a woman member of a member-society's committee is also eligible.
3. 3If a reserved seat is vacant, record in the minutes that it is vacant and has not been counted.
4. 4Work out the quorum for each meeting on the committee's strength without the vacant reserved seats.
5. 5Once a woman member is elected to a reserved seat, include that seat in the strength from then on.