Presiding Officer of Lok Sabha

• Context (IE): The US House has been without a speaker for three weeks.

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives To be elected speaker to the United States House of Representatives (the Lower House of the US Congress), a candidate must receive a majority of votes from the members present and voting. Representatives are free to vote for someone other than the candidate nominated by their party but generally do not. The Republican Party in the US has a majority in the House, but it is divided into many factions and cannot reach a consensus.

Speaker of Lok Sabha (LS)

• The Speaker of the LS is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the LS.
• The LS must choose one of its members (MPs) to be the Speaker as soon as possible.
• To be elected speaker, a candidate must receive a majority of votes from the MPs present and voting.
• When the post of Speaker is vacant:
  • The House must choose a new member to fill the vacancy.
  • The Deputy Speaker presides over the Lok Sabha.
  • If the post of both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker is vacant, the President can appoint a member of the LS as the Speaker pro tem.
• When the speaker is absent:
  • The Deputy Speaker presides over the LS.
  • If both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are absent, anyone from the Panel of Chairpersons can preside over the house.

Panel of Chairpersons It consists of a maximum of ten members of LS nominated by the Speaker. Any chairperson can preside over the House if both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are absent. The Chairperson remains in office until a new Panel is nominated unless they: Resign or Are appointed as a Minister or Elected as the Deputy Speaker.

• After the dissolution of LS:
  • The Speaker remains in office until just before the first meeting of the new House.
  • When the LS meets after the election, the President appoints a member of the LS as a pro-tem speaker for the conduct of the house.
  • The President himself administers oath to the pro tem speaker.
  • Pro tem speaker administers the oath to MPs and enables the house to elect the new speaker.

Vacating the Speaker’s Office

• The speaker has to vacate his office:
  • If he ceases to be a member of the LS
  • If he resigns by providing written notice to the Deputy Speaker
  • If he is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the LS.

Role of Speaker under IC

• As the presiding officer of the LS at the Centre and the Legislative Assembly in the States, the Speaker must act impartially.
• The speaker is the custodian of the rights & privileges of the House, its committees, and its members.
• Apart from the traditional roles with respect to the conduct of business, important functions of the Speaker include:
  • Certifying a Bill to be a Money Bill.
  • Deciding on disqualification under the Tenth Schedule for defection.
  • Suspension of members for misconduct in the House.
  • Referring a bill to the standing committee.

Misuse of the Power

• The LS/Legislative Assembly rules provide for suspension of members for misconduct in the House. The Speakers and the Houses misuse these provisions often against the Opposition members.
• The Speaker can refer to Bills introduced to the Parliamentary Standing Committees. However, even significant Bills that require detailed scrutiny are not referred to such committees.
• There have also been challenges in the Court in recent years against the certification of certain Bills as a Money Bill by the Speaker of the LS.

Authority Under the Tenth Schedule

• The Speaker is the deciding authority on disqualifying members under the Tenth Schedule.
• While he/she is expected to perform this constitutional role neutrally, past instances suggest that the Speakers favour the ruling dispensation.
• The minority judges in Kihoto Hollohan (1992) believed that vesting the power to decide on defections with the Speaker violates the basic democratic principles.
• The SC in Keisham Meghachandra Singh vs The Hon’ble Speaker Manipur (2020) recommended amending the Constitution to vest these powers in an independent tribunal headed by judges.

Way Forward

• Speakers should act impartially & refrain from engaging in any conduct perceived as inappropriate.
• The Indian Parliament must follow British practices to build trust in the Speaker’s role.

Speaker in Britain In Britain, the Speaker, once elected to his/her office, resigns from the political party to which he/she belonged. This is to reflect his/her impartiality while presiding over the House. In subsequent elections to the House of Commons, he/she seeks election not as a member of any political party but as ‘the Speaker seeking re-election’. In the IC, while the Tenth Schedule allows a Speaker (or Deputy Speaker) to resign from their political party on being elected to their office, it has never been done by any Speaker to date.