Speaker of the Lok Sabha

The speaker of the Lok Sabha (IAST: Lok Sabhā Adhyakṣa) is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India.[2] The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections. Serving for a term of five years, the speaker is chosen from sitting members of the Lok Sabha.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabhā Adhyakṣa
Emblem of the Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Om Birla
since 19 June 2019
Lok Sabha
Style
  • Honourable (Inside India)
  • His/Her Excellency (Outside India)
StatusPresiding member of the Lok Sabha
Member ofLok Sabha
Reports toParliament of India
Residence20, Akbar Road, New Delhi, Delhi, India[1]
Seat16, Parliament House, Sansad Marg, New Delhi, Delhi, India
AppointerMembers of Parliament (Lok Sabha)
Term lengthDuring the life of the Lok Sabha (five years maximum)
Constituting instrumentArticle 93 of the Constitution of India
PrecursorPresident of the Constituent Assembly of India
Inaugural holderGanesh Vasudev Mavalankar (1952–1956)
Formation15 May 1952
DeputyDeputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Salary 450,000 (US$5,600)
(per month)
5,400,000 (US$68,000)
(annually)
Websitespeakerloksabha.nic.in

Election of the speaker

Newly elected Members of Parliament from the Lok Sabha elect the Speaker among themselves. The Speaker should be someone who understands how the Lok Sabha functions and he/she should be someone accepted among the ruling and opposition parties.

MPs propose a name for the Pro tem speaker. These names are notified to the President of India. The President through their aide Secretary-General notifies the election date. If only one name is proposed, the Speaker is elected without any formal vote. However, if more than one nomination is received, a division (vote) is called. MPs vote for their candidate on such a date notified by President. The successful candidate is elected as Speaker of the Lok Sabha until the next general election. Till now, all elections of Lok Sabha speakers have been unanimous.[3][4]

Powers and functions of the speaker

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha conducts the business in house, and decides whether a bill is a money bill or not. They maintain discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for unruly behaviour with respect to law after suspending them. They also permit the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions such as a motion of no confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure and calling attention notice as per the rules. The Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting. The date of election of the Speaker is fixed by the President. Further, all comments and speeches made by members of the House are addressed to the Speaker. The Speaker also presides over the joint sitting of both houses of the Parliament of India. The counterpart of the Speaker in the Rajya Sabha (Council of the States) is its Chairperson; the Vice-President of India is the ex-officio chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. On the order of precedence, the Speaker of Lok Sabha ranks sixth, along with the Chief Justice of India. The Speaker is answerable to the House. Both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker may be removed by a resolution passed by the majority of the members. Lok Sabha Speaker can be elected by President on a nomination basis.

All bills passed requires the speaker's signature to go to the Rajya Sabha for its consideration. The Speaker also has a casting vote in the event of a tie. It is customary for the Presiding Officer to exercise the casting vote in such a manner as to maintain the status quo.

Removal of the speaker

Speaker can be removed by the Lok Sabha by a resolution passed by effective majority of the house as per Constitution of India[Articles 94].

The Speaker is also removed on being disqualified for being Lok Sabha member under sections 7 and 8 of Representation of the People Act, 1951.[5] This would arise out of speaker's wrong certification of a bill as money bill inconsistent with the definition given in Articles 110 of the constitution.[6] When courts uphold the unconstitutional act of the speaker for wrong certification of a bill as money bill, it amounts to disrespecting the constitution deserving conviction under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 which is applicable for disqualification of speaker's Lok Sabha membership under section 8K of Representation of the People Act, 1951. However, the omissions in the procedure committed by the speaker in the Lok Sabha can not be challenged in court of law per Article 122.[7]

Pro tem speaker

After a general election and formation of a new government, a list of senior Lok Sabha members prepared by the Legislative Section is submitted to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, who selects a pro tem speaker. The appointment has to be approved by the President.[8]

The first meeting after the election when the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are selected by members of the Parliament is held under the pro tem Speaker. In absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker acts as Speaker and in the absence of both a committee of six members selected by the Speaker will act as Speaker according to their seniority.

Eligiblilty for Speaker of the Lok Sabha include:

  • Being a citizen of India;
  • Not be less than 25 years of age;
  • Not holding any office of profit under the Government of India, or a state government; and
  • Not being a Criminal Offender.

List of speakers

No.[lower-alpha 1] Portrait Name Constituency Tenure[9] Lok Sabha
(election)
Party
1 Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar
(1888-1956)
Ahmedabad 15 May 1952 27 February 1956 3 years, 288 days 1st

(1951 election)

Indian National Congress
2 M. A. Ayyangar
(1891-1978)
Chittoor 8 March 1956 4 April 1957 6 years, 39 days
5 April 1957 31 March 1962 2nd

(1957 election)

3 Hukam Singh
(1895-1983)
Patiala 17 April 1962 16 March 1967 4 years, 333 days 3rd

(1962 election)

4 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
(1913-1996)
Hindupur 17 March 1967 19 July 1969 2 years, 124 days 4th

(1967 election)

5 Gurdial Singh Dhillon
(1915-1992)
Tarn Taran 8 August 1969 17 March 1971 6 years, 111 days
22 March 1971 1 December 1975 5th

(1971 election)

6 Bali Ram Bhagat
(1922-2011)
Arrah 15 January 1976 25 March 1977 1 year, 69 days
(4) Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
(1913-1996)
Nandyal 26 March 1977 13 July 1977 109 days 6th

(1977 election)

Janata Party
7 K. S. Hegde
(1909-1990)
Bangalore South 21 July 1977 21 January 1980 2 years, 184 days
8 Balram Jakhar
(1923-2016)
Ferozpur 22 January 1980 15 January 1985 9 years, 330 days 7th

(1980 election)

Indian National Congress
Sikar 16 January 1985 18 December 1989 8th

(1984 election)

9 Rabi Ray
(1926-2017)
Kendrapara 19 December 1989 9 July 1991 1 year, 202 days 9th

(1989 election)

Janata Dal
10 Shivraj Patil
(1935-)
Latur 10 July 1991 22 May 1996 4 years, 317 days 10th

(1991 election)

Indian National Congress
11 P. A. Sangma
(1947-2016)
Tura 23 May 1996 23 March 1998 1 year, 304 days 11th

(1996 election)

12 G. M. C. Balayogi
(1951-2002)
Amalapuram 24 March 1998 19 October 1999 3 years, 342 days 12th

(1998 election)

Telugu Desam Party
22 October 1999 3 March 2002 13th

(1999 election)

13 Manohar Joshi
(1937-)
Mumbai North Central 10 May 2002 2 June 2004 2 years, 23 days Shiv Sena
14 Somnath Chatterjee
(1929-2018)
Bolpur 4 June 2004 4 June 2009 5 years, 0 days 14th

(2004 election)

Communist Party of India (Marxist)
15 Meira Kumar
(1945-)
Sasaram 4 June 2009 5 June 2014 5 years, 1 day 15th

(2009 election)

Indian National Congress
16 Sumitra Mahajan
(1943-)
Indore 6 June 2014 17 June 2019 5 years, 11 days 16th

(2014 election)

Bharatiya Janata Party
17 Om Birla
(1962-)
Kota 19 June 2019 Incumbent 4 years, 129 days 17th

(2019 election)

  1. A number in parentheses indicates that the incumbent has previously held office.

See also

References

  1. "Members : Lok Sabha". 164.100.47.194. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  2. "The Office of Speaker Lok Sabha". speakerloksabha.nic.in. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  3. "Election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker and Nomination of Panel of Chairpersons" (PDF). 164.100.47.194. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  4. "The Office of Speaker Lok Sabha". speakerloksabha.nic.in. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  5. "Sections 7 & 8k, Representation of the People Act, 1951" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  6. "Aadhaar Act as Money Bill: Why the Lok Sabha isn't Immune from Judicial Review". Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  7. "Interpretation of Article 122 by the Supreme Court". Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  8. Ashok, Akash Deep (4 June 2014). "Pro tem Speaker: All you need to know about this parliamentary post". India Today. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  9. "The Office of Speaker Lok Sabha". speakerloksabha.nic.in. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
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