Speaker of Lok Sabha

About Speaker of Lok Sabha

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.

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.

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.

The Speaker controls and supervises House proceedings, deciding the agenda and modalities for conducting government business in consultation with the Leader of the House.
Grants permission for questions and discussions. Interprets and enforces the Rules of Procedure.
Suspension of members for misconduct in the House.
Referring a bill to the standing committee.
Certifying a Bill to be a Money Bill.

Decides on the admissibility of questions raised by members.
Oversees the publication of House proceedings.
Can remove unparliamentary remarks (potentially shielding the government from criticism).

The Speaker can decide on voice votes or division votes (recording individual votes).
The Speaker has a casting vote (Article 100) in case of a tie (does not vote initially).

Holds the power to disqualify MPs who defect from their party (Tenth Schedule of the IC).
In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Assembly and Lok Sabha Speakers must decide disqualification pleas within three months, except in extraordinary circumstances.

In the Lok Sabha, the ‘Leader of the House’ is the Prime Minister or a minister nominated by the PM.
In the Rajya Sabha, the ‘Leader of the House’ is a minister and member of it nominated by the PM.
The office of the Leader of the House is not mentioned in the Constitution but is defined in the Rules of Procedure for the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Article 118: Each House of Parliament may make rules for regulating, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, its procedure and the conduct of its business.

The pro tem Speaker is a temporary Speaker appointed by the President to preside over the first meeting of a newly constituted Lok Sabha after general elections.
Has all the powers of the Speaker under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in LS.
Pro tem Speaker administers the oath to the newly elected members of the Lok Sabha.
The office of the pro tem Speaker terminates when the new Speaker is elected.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.