Speaker of the Lok Sabha

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha (House of the People), the lower house of the Parliament of India.[1] 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 chosen from sitting members of the Lok Sabha (House of the People), and is by convention a member of the ruling party or alliance.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Om Birla

since 19 June 2019
Lok Sabha
StyleThe Hon’ble (formal)
Mr. Speaker (informal)
AppointerMembers of the 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 2.5 lakh
Websitespeakerloksabha.nic.in

Om Birla of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the current Speaker who presides over the 17th Lok Sabha. [2]

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 Lok Sabha functions and it should be someone accepted among the ruling and opposition parties.

MPs propose a name to 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 date notified by President. The successful candidate is elected as Speaker of the Lok Sabha until the next general election.[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 by 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 nomination basis. All bill passed requires his or her signature to go to the Rajya Sabha for its consideration. He/She is the highest official of the Lok Sabha.

Removal of the speaker

Speaker can be removed by the Lok Sabha by a resolution passed by an effective majority (>50% of total strength excluding vacancies) of the house as per Articles 94 and 96.

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.

The eligibility criteria to become the Speaker of the Lok Sabha are:

  • He or she must be a citizen of India;
  • He or she must not be less than 25 years of age; and
  • He or she should not hold any office of profit under the Government of India, or a state government.

List of Speakers

No. Name Portrait Term Party
From To Length Lok Sabha[9]
1 Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar

Ahmedabad

15 May 1952 27 February 1956 3 years, 288 days 1st Indian National Congress
2 M. A. Ayyangar

Chittoor

8 March 1956 10 May 1957 1 year, 63 days
11 May 1957 16 April 1962 4 years, 340 days 2nd
3 Hukam Singh

Patiala

17 April 1962 16 March 1967 4 years, 333 days 3rd
4 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

Hindupur

17 March 1967 19 July 1969 2 years, 124 days 4th
5 Gurdial Singh Dhillon

Tarn Taran

8 August 1969 19 March 1971 1 year, 221 days
22 March 1971 1 December 1975 4 years, 254 days 5th
6 Bali Ram Bhagat

Arrah

15 January 1976 25 March 1977 1 year, 69 days
(4) Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

Nandyal

26 March 1977 13 July 1977 109 days 6th Janata Party
7 K. S. Hegde

Bangalore South

21 July 1977 21 January 1980 2 years, 184 days
8 Balram Jakhar

Ferozepur

22 January 1980 27 October 1984 3 years, 358 days 7th Indian National Congress
Balram Jakhar

Sikar

16 January 1985 18 December 1989 4 years, 336 days 8th
9 Rabi Ray

Kendrapara

19 December 1989 9 July 1991 1 year, 202 days 9th Janata Dal
10 Shivraj Patil

Latur

10 July 1991 22 May 1996 4 years, 317 days 10th Indian National Congress
11 P. A. Sangma

Tura

23 May 1996 23 March 1998 1 year, 304 days 11th
12 G. M. C. Balayogi

Amalapuram

24 March 1998 19 October 1999 1 year, 209 days 12th Telugu Desam Party
22 October 1999 3 March 2002 2 years, 132 days 13th
13 Manohar Joshi

Mumbai North Central

10 May 2002 2 June 2004 2 years, 23 days Shiv Sena
14 Somnath Chatterjee

Bolpur

4 June 2004 31 May 2009 4 years, 361 days 14th Communist Party of India (Marxist)
15 Meira Kumar

Sasaram

4 June 2009 4 June 2014 5 years, 0 days 15th Indian National Congress
16 Sumitra Mahajan

Indore

6 June 2014 16 June 2019 5 years, 10 days 16th Bharatiya Janata Party
17 Om Birla

Kota

19 June 2019 Incumbent 1 year, 230 days 17th

See also

References

  1. "The Office of Speaker Lok Sabha". speakerloksabha.nic.in. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  2. "Om Birla to be new Lok Sabha Speaker, Opposition to support BJP candidate - India News". www.indiatoday.in. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  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. "Office of the Lok Sabha Speaker". Retrieved 29 July 2016.
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