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The recent election of Om Birla as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha has drawn attention to the different aspects of the office of the Speaker in our parliamentary democracy. In this context, it is important to understand the office of the Speaker in Lok Sabha from a broader perspective.
UPSC Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: GS-II: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
Other areas of relevance: UPSC Aspirants will find it useful in Essays, and Current affairs for their Personality tests.
What will you learn from this article? |
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Answer: The Lok Sabha, the Lower House of Parliament, is the highest legislative body in the country. The presiding officer of India’s Lower House of Parliament, the Lok Sabha Speaker, is the constitutional and ceremonial head of the House. According to Article 93 for the Lok Sabha and Article 178 for state assemblies, these houses must choose two of their members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker “as soon as may be” after the House begins.
Important constitutional articles related to the Office of the Speaker
Article 93 of the Indian Constitution says, “The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the House shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be.”
Article 94 outlines the procedures for vacation, resignation, and removal from the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Article 95 provides provisions regarding the “power of the Deputy Speaker or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or to act as, Speaker.”
Article 96 specifies the powers of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker during consideration of a resolution for their removal from office. It says, “The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker is not to preside while a resolution for his removal from office is under consideration.”
Article 97 provides for the “salaries and allowances of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.”
| Who is the pro-tem Speaker of Lok Sabha and how is an MP chosen for the role? |
| Until the selection of Speaker, the pro-tem Speaker is chosen to administer some important duties. ‘Pro-tem’ essentially means ‘for the time being’ or ‘temporarily’. The Constitution does not mention the post. However, the official ‘Handbook on the Working of Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs’ speaks about the ‘Appointment and Swearing in of Speaker pro tem’. Administering oaths to the new MPs is the pro-tem Speaker’s primary duty.
How is the pro-tem Speaker chosen? The handbook states when the Speaker post falls vacant before a new Lok Sabha, “the duties of the Speaker are to be performed by a Member of the House appointed for this purpose by the President as Speaker pro tem”. According to the handbook, the senior most members (in terms of number of years of membership of the House) are generally chosen for the purpose, though there have been exceptions. |
Points to Ponder:
— What does the Constitution say about the Deputy Speaker?
— Which schedule of the Indian Constitution contains the forms of oath and affirmation?
— What are the constitutional provisions for the office of speaker and deputy speaker for the state assemblies?
Answer: The election of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is a significant event. One of the first acts of a newly constituted Lok Sabha is to elect the Speaker. In the new Lok Sabha, both Presiding Officers – the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are elected from among its members by a simple majority of members present and voting in the House.
| Do you Know? |
| In the Constitution of India, there are no specific qualifications for becoming a Speaker, which means any member of the house is entitled to be considered. However, the post of Speaker is distinct from other members of the House. |
Chakshu Roy Writes— “The Constitution neither sets a time limit nor specifies the process for these elections. It leaves it to the legislatures to decide how to hold these elections. In Lok Sabha and state legislatures, the President/Governor sets a date for the election of the Speaker, and it is the Speaker who decides the date for the election of the Deputy Speaker. The legislators of the respective Houses vote to elect one among themselves to these offices.”
There are two methods for the appointment of a Lok Sabha speaker. The ruling party nominates a candidate using the first and most practised method. After a formal consultation with the opposition party, the candidate is named the Speaker of Lok Sabha for the respective assembly.
However, in the second and less practised method, the ruling and opposition party nominates one candidate from each side for the position. The Speaker is elected based on votes cast by the present MPs of the Lok Sabha on the day of the election. Notably, in the 72 years of the Lok Sabha Assembly, the election for the Speaker post has taken place thrice, i.e. in 1952, 1976 and 2024.
Points to Ponder:
— How many times have non-ruling parties or coalition members been elected as speakers?
— What are the rules for the election of the Deputy Speaker?
Answer: The Office of the Speaker holds a crucial role in our parliamentary democracy. While the Members of Parliament represent their individual constituencies, the Speaker represents the full authority of the House itself.
Apurva Vishwanath Writes—
From the placement of the Speaker’s chair in the House to his having a casting vote, from effectively being in charge of the functioning of the House to having crucial constitutional functions in dealing with disqualification of members — the Speaker is evidently perched as the Presiding Officer of Lok Sabha.
The speaker has been given extensive functions to perform in matters administrative, judicial and regulatory, falling under his/her domain. Her/his actions come under scrutiny in the House and widely affect parliamentary proceedings.
Powers of the Speaker
The Lok Sabha Speaker, appointed for 5 years, has wide-ranging powers and responsibilities, provided by the Indian Constitution. Listed below are the powers and responsibilities of the Lok Sabha Speaker:
1. Conducting house: The Speaker, with a vantage view of the House, decides how it is conducted. The conduct of government business is decided by the Speaker in consultation with the Leader of the House. Prior permission of the Speaker is required for members to ask a question, or to discuss any matter.
Chakshu Roy Writes—“According to the book Practice and Procedure of Parliament, published by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the Speaker is “the principal spokesman of the House, he represents its collective voice and is its sole representative to the outside world”.”
There are Rules and Procedure for the functioning of the House, but the Speaker has vast powers in ensuring these Rules are followed, and in choosing procedures. This makes the impartiality of the Speaker a crucial check and balance for the Opposition to have its say in the House.
| Do you Know? |
| The salary of the Speaker is drawn from the Consolidated Fund of India unlike for other MPs, which flow from a statute voted on by the House itself. |
2. Interpreter of constitutional provisions: The Lok Sabha Speaker is the final authority on the interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution of India, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Lok Sabha, and the parliamentary proceedings within the House. Their rulings on such matters are binding on the members of the House.
3. Presiding over joint sessions: The Speaker presides over joint sittings of both houses of Parliament, which are summoned by the President to resolve deadlocks between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on a particular bill.
4. Maintaining order and decorum: The Speaker has the power to adjourn the House or suspend a meeting in the absence of one-tenth of the total strength of the House, known as the quorum. This authority is crucial for maintaining order and ensuring the proper conduct of parliamentary proceedings.
5. Deciding on money bills: The Speaker has the exclusive authority to decide whether a bill is a “money bill” or not, and this decision is final and cannot be challenged.
6. Question and Records: The Speaker decides the admissibility of a question raised by a member, as well as how the proceedings of the House are published. The Speaker has the power to expunge, in full or in part, remarks that he/she may consider to be unparliamentary. Critical remarks against the ruling party may not be published if the Speaker decides to expunge them.
7. Chairing committees and groups: The Speaker acts as the ex-officio chairman of the Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG), which serves as a link between the Parliament of India and the various parliaments of the world. The Speaker also chairs the conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies in the country.
8. Constituting committees: The committees of the House are constituted by the Speaker and function under his/her overall direction. The chairpersons of all parliamentary committees, the Business Advisory Committee, the General Purposes Committee, and the Rules Committee work directly under the Speaker’s chairpersonship.
| Deputy Speaker |
| The Deputy Speaker is independent of the Speaker and not subordinate to him, as both are elected from among the members of the House. In addition to presiding over the House in the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker chairs committees both inside and outside of Parliament. The Deputy Speaker ensures the continuity of the speaker’s office by acting as the Speaker when the office becomes vacant or because of a resignation by the Speaker. In addition, when a resolution for the removal of the Speaker is up for discussion, the Constitution specifies that the Deputy Speaker presides over the proceedings of the House. |
9. Protecting the House’s privileges: The Speaker is the guardian of the rights and privileges of the House, its committees, and its members. It depends solely on the Speaker to refer any question of privilege to the Committee of Privileges for examination, investigation, and report.
10. Casting Vote: According to Article 100 of the Constitution, which talks about voting in the Houses, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha or Speaker of Lok Sabha, or any person acting as such, “shall not vote in the first instance, but shall have an exercise a casting vote in the case of any equality of votes”. Conventionally, the Speaker votes in favour of the government.
11. Disqualification of members: The Tenth Schedule or the anti-defection law, introduced to the Constitution through the Fifty-Second (Amendment) Act, 1985, gives the Speaker of the House the power to disqualify legislators who ‘defect’ from a party. In the landmark case Kihoto Hollohan versus Zachillhu in 1992, the Supreme Court upheld the power vested in the Speaker and said that only the final order of the Speaker would be subject to judicial review.
— In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Speakers of Assemblies and Lok Sabha must decide disqualification pleas within three months except in extraordinary circumstances.
Points to Ponder:
— What are the grounds for disqualification under the anti-defection law?
— Is it mandatory under the Constitution to have a Deputy Speaker?
Answer: The Speaker holds Office from the date of his/her election till immediately before the first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the dissolution of the one to which he/she was elected.
Under Article 94 (and Article 179 for state Assemblies), the Speaker or Deputy Speaker “shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House of the People”. They may also resign (to each other), or “may be removed from office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House”.
Removal of the Speaker
On the removal of the Speaker article 94 (c) of the Indian Constitution says, “A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of the People may be removed from his office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House: Provided that no resolution for the purpose of clause (c) shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution: Provided further that, whenever the House of the People is dissolved, the Speaker shall not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the House of the People after the dissolution.”
Points to Ponder:
— Is the Speaker eligible for re-election?
Answer: A vigilant Parliament is essential for a well-functioning democracy, with the presiding officers playing a key role in ensuring the effectiveness of this institution. Therefore, the office of Speaker is seen as a crucial authority, responsible for maintaining decorum in the house. For the same, the Speaker needs to earn the trust of the Members of Parliament by being neutral, both in practice and perception, while running the House. However, there have been various instances when the neutrality of the Speaker has been questioned.
Chakshu Roy Writes—“Securing the neutrality of the Speaker is a question that experts in India have been grappling with for 60-plus years… With no security in the continuity of office, the Speaker is dependent on his or her political party for reelection. This makes the Speaker susceptible to pulls and pressures from her/his political party in the conduct of the proceedings of the Lok Sabha.”
How can we guarantee the Speaker’s impartiality?
GV Mavalankar, the first Speaker, observed:
Once a person is elected Speaker, he is expected to be above parties, above politics. In other words, he belongs to all the members or belongs to none. He holds the scales of justice evenly, irrespective of party or person.
Arvind P Datar Writes—
“Several judgments on the anti-defection law have been rendered by the Supreme Court. A common factor that shows up in these rulings is the blatant, partisan conduct of speakers in state assemblies. Sadly, over the last decade and more, an impartial and independent Speaker is an oxymoron. Indeed, it should be made mandatory that the Speaker ought to resign from his party and his sole allegiance must be to the Constitution and to maintaining the dignity of the House.
The present practice of the Speaker continuing to be an active member of the ruling party has the inevitable result of his refusing to allow any debate or discussion that may be essential in national interest but may embarrass the ruling party. This inevitably leads to constant disruption of Parliament by the Opposition. Indeed, a Speaker who continues to be a member of the ruling party is like an umpire being appointed by the batting side.
The separation of powers is part of the basic structure of our Constitution. It is, therefore, imperative that the Speaker of every legislature resigns from his party to honour his constitutional obligation of independence and impartiality. For example, in 1967, late N Sanjiva Reddy resigned from his party when he became the Speaker.
This must be accepted as the primary responsibility of every ruling party, both at the Centre and in each state, and made into a constitutional convention. Indeed, the option is a binary: Either allow Parliament and state legislatures to descend into terminal decline or make the Speaker truly independent and let every legislature perform its constitutional function of deliberating on matters of public importance and passing laws after proper debate.”
Points to Ponder:
— What are the other issues associated with the office of the Speaker and its functioning?
— What is the Panel of Chairperson?
— What are the provisions ensuring the independence and impartiality of the Speaker of Lok Sabha?
(1) Consider the following statements:
1. The Constitution does not mention the post of pro-tem Speaker.
2. The pro-tem Speaker is appointed by the President.
3. Administering oaths to the new MPs is the pro-tem Speaker’s primary duty.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(2) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2017)
1. In the election for Lok Sabha or State Assembly, the winning candidate must get at least 50 percent of the votes polled, to be declared elected.
2. According to the provisions laid down in the Constitution of India, in Lok Sabha, the Speaker’s post goes to the majority party and the Deputy Speaker’s to the Opposition.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
(3) Regarding the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2012)
1. He/She holds the office during the pleasure of the President.
2. He/She need not be a member of the House at the time of his/her election but has to become a member of the House within six months from the date of his/ her election.
3. If he/she intends to resign, the letter of his/her resignation has to be addressed to the Deputy Speaker.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None
(4) With reference to the Speaker of Lok Sabha, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2024)
While any resolution for the removal of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is under consideration
1. He/She shall not preside.
2. He/She shall not have the right to speak.
3. He/She shall not be entitled to vote on the resolution in the first instance.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(5) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2018)
1. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall vacate his/her office if he/she ceases to be a member of the Assembly.
2. Whenever the Legislative Assembly is dissolved, the Speaker shall vacate his/her office immediately.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
1. ‘Once a Speaker, Always a Speaker’! Do you think this practice should be adopted to impart objectivity to the office of the Speaker of Lok Sabha? What could be its implications for the robust functioning of parliamentary business in India? (UPSC CSE 2020)
2. What is the significance of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha? What steps can be taken to ensure the neutrality of the speaker while maintaining the proper functioning of parliamentary democracy?
| Prelims Answer Key |
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(Source: Explained: How are a Speaker and Deputy Speaker elected?, Constitution of India. Who is the pro-tem Speaker of Lok Sabha and how is an MP chosen for the role?, Om Birla re-elected as Lok Sabha Speaker, Powers of Speaker, Decode Politics: What is the Deputy Speaker’s role and how often has it been an Opposition MP?, Constitution of India, Speakers must rise above party loyalties, with Constitution as their guiding light, How can we guarantee the Speaker’s impartiality?)
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