Deputy Chairman

1. Constitutional position and election

Article 89 establishes the presiding-officer structure of the Council of States, or Rajya Sabha. Under Article 89(1), the Vice-President of India is its ex officio Chairman. Under Article 89(2), the House must, as soon as may be, choose one of its members as Deputy Chairman and choose another whenever the office becomes vacant. The office therefore combines constitutional status with accountability to the House.

The distinction in membership is fundamental. The Chairman is not a member of the Rajya Sabha; Article 66(2) prevents the Vice-President from being a member of either House of Parliament or a state legislature. The Deputy Chairman, however, must be a Rajya Sabha member. Both elected and nominated members are constitutionally eligible because Article 89 does not restrict the choice to elected members.

The Constitution fixes no specific number of days within which the election must occur. The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States govern the election process. The Chairman fixes the election date, and members submit notices proposing candidates with their willingness to serve. The House decides the relevant election motion; the decision ordinarily requires a simple majority of members present and voting.

There is no constitutional requirement that the Deputy Chairman belong to the opposition. Political parties may negotiate an agreed candidate, but such arrangements must not be confused with binding constitutional qualifications. The election is also distinct from the election of the Vice-President, which involves members of both Houses of Parliament.

2. Tenure, resignation and removal

Article 90 links the office to Rajya Sabha membership rather than prescribing a separate fixed term. The Deputy Chairman vacates office on ceasing to be a member of the House. Since the Rajya Sabha is a continuing chamber with staggered retirement, a Lok Sabha dissolution does not terminate this office. However, the continuing character of the House does not allow the Deputy Chairman to remain after their own membership ends.

The Deputy Chairman may resign at any time by writing under their hand addressed to the Chairman. Removal requires a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all the then members of the House. At least fourteen days’ notice of the intention to move the resolution is compulsory. Neither approval by the Lok Sabha nor assent by the President is required.

The removal threshold is commonly called an effective majority. It means more than half of the existing membership after excluding vacant seats, not merely a majority of those present and voting. For example, if the House has 240 members in office, at least 121 affirmative votes are required, even when fewer members attend. Abstentions do not reduce this threshold.

Under Article 92(1), the Deputy Chairman cannot preside while a resolution for their own removal is under consideration, even if present. This embodies the principle that a person should not control proceedings concerning their own continuance in office. The Deputy Chairman remains a member and may participate and vote in the first instance; they cannot exercise the presiding officer’s casting vote in those proceedings.

3. Functions, voting and institutional safeguards

Article 91 distinguishes a vacancy in the Chairman’s office from absence at an individual sitting. When the Chairman’s office is vacant, or when the Vice-President acts as President or discharges presidential functions, the Deputy Chairman performs the duties of the Chairman. If the Deputy Chairman’s office is also vacant, the President appoints a Rajya Sabha member to perform those duties.

When the Chairman is merely absent from a sitting, the Deputy Chairman acts as Chairman. If both are absent, the person determined by the House’s rules presides. If no such person is present, the House chooses another member. These provisions ensure continuity without converting every temporary absence into a vacancy.

While presiding, the Deputy Chairman regulates debate, recognises members, puts questions to the House, announces decisions and maintains order under the Constitution and the House’s rules. Article 100(1) provides that the Chairman or a person acting as Chairman does not vote in the first instance but exercises a casting vote when votes are equally divided. When not presiding, the Deputy Chairman votes as an ordinary member.

Article 97 provides for the salary and allowances of the Deputy Chairman through parliamentary legislation. Under Article 112(3)(b), these are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India. Charged expenditure may be discussed but is not submitted to Parliament’s vote. This arrangement supports institutional independence, alongside the expectation that the chair conduct proceedings impartially.

4. Distinctions from related offices

The Deputy Chairman should not be confused with the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The latter is governed principally by Articles 93–96 and belongs to the directly elected House. Both are chosen from their respective Houses and face comparable removal safeguards, but the offices operate within different institutional structures.

The Rajya Sabha’s panel of vice-chairpersons is another distinct arrangement. Under its rules, the Chairman nominates members to this panel to preside when the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are absent. A panel member is not thereby elected Deputy Chairman and does not acquire that office’s tenure, resignation procedure or removal protection. The panel’s ordinary role concerns temporary presiding arrangements, not substitution for the constitutional mechanism when both offices are vacant.

Under Article 64, when the Vice-President acts as President or discharges presidential functions, they do not perform the duties of Rajya Sabha Chairman. Article 91 then brings the Deputy Chairman into the parliamentary role. The Deputy Chairman does not enter the presidential office through this arrangement: succession to presidential functions and substitution in the Rajya Sabha are separate constitutional questions.

5. Examination significance and limits of authority

The Deputy Chairman’s importance lies in parliamentary continuity and fair deliberation. A presiding officer drawn from a political party must nevertheless apply procedural rules impartially. Recognition of speakers, management of divisions and enforcement of order can shape the quality of legislative scrutiny. Holding the office does not constitutionally require resignation from the member’s political party.

For Prelims, distinguish powers of presiding from powers expressly assigned to a particular constitutional office. The Deputy Chairman does not certify Money Bills: Article 110(3) assigns the final decision on whether a Bill is a Money Bill to the Lok Sabha Speaker. Nor does the Deputy Chairman normally preside over a joint sitting. Under Article 118(4), the Speaker presides; the applicable joint-sitting rules place the Deputy Speaker before the Deputy Chairman when substitutes are needed.

Judicial decisions on presiding officers must also be read carefully. In Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu (1992), the Supreme Court recognised judicial review of decisions under the Tenth Schedule. This concerns the Speaker’s or Chairman’s anti-defection adjudicatory role, not a general transfer of that jurisdiction to the Deputy Chairman whenever they preside over an ordinary sitting.

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