Deputy Speaker

1. Constitutional position and significance

Article 93 requires the House of the People to choose two of its members as Speaker and Deputy Speaker as soon as may be. Whenever either office becomes vacant, the House must choose another member for that office. The Deputy Speaker is therefore a constitutionally mandated officer, not merely an optional administrative assistant. The phrase 'as soon as may be' establishes an obligation to hold an election without prescribing a fixed number of days.

The Deputy Speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker when exercising the powers of the Chair. While presiding, the Deputy Speaker exercises the relevant authority of the Speaker independently and is expected to protect orderly debate, parliamentary procedure and members’ rights. This authority comes from the Constitution and the House’s rules, rather than from personal delegation by the Speaker.

The office illustrates the difference between the legislature and the executive. The Deputy Speaker is neither a minister nor an executive nominee. Election by the House reflects legislative autonomy. A similar constitutional arrangement exists in State Legislative Assemblies under Articles 178–181. The corresponding officer in the Rajya Sabha is the Deputy Chairman under Article 89, not a Deputy Speaker.

• The Deputy Speaker must be a member of the Lok Sabha.
• Impartiality is an institutional expectation; resignation from political party membership is not a constitutional condition.
• The Deputy Speaker’s salary and allowances are determined by Parliament under Article 97.

2. Election, tenure, resignation and removal

Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha regulates the election. The Speaker fixes the election date, and the Secretary-General informs members. A member gives notice of a motion proposing another member, supported by a seconder and the proposed candidate’s willingness to serve. The House decides the motion or motions according to the prescribed procedure. The essential examination distinction is that the Speaker fixes the Deputy Speaker’s election date, whereas the President fixes the Speaker’s election date under Rule 7.

Article 94 governs vacation of office, resignation and removal. The Deputy Speaker vacates office upon ceasing to be a Lok Sabha member. The Deputy Speaker may resign through a signed written communication addressed to the Speaker. Conversely, the Speaker resigns by writing to the Deputy Speaker. Neither resignation is constitutionally addressed to the President.

The Lok Sabha can remove the Deputy Speaker through a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the House. This is commonly described as an effective majority: vacancies are excluded from the House’s total strength, but absences and abstentions do not reduce the required majority. At least 14 days’ notice of the intention to move the resolution is necessary. This is removal by parliamentary resolution, not impeachment.

The Deputy Speaker normally holds office during the life of the Lok Sabha, subject to the conditions in Article 94. The special protection allowing the Speaker to continue after dissolution until immediately before the first meeting of the next Lok Sabha does not extend to the Deputy Speaker.

• No separate constitutional qualification is prescribed beyond membership of the Lok Sabha.
• Removal does not require approval by the Rajya Sabha or the President.
• If the House has 540 then members, removal requires at least 271 affirmative votes.

3. Powers during absence, vacancy and removal proceedings

Article 95 distinguishes a vacancy in the Speaker’s office from the Speaker’s absence at a sitting. While the Speaker’s office is vacant, the Deputy Speaker performs its duties. If both offices are vacant, the President appoints a Lok Sabha member to perform those duties. This presidential power creates a temporary arrangement; it does not replace the House’s responsibility to elect its presiding officers.

When the Speaker is merely absent from a sitting, the Deputy Speaker acts as Speaker. If both are absent, the person determined by the House’s rules presides. If no such person is present, the House determines another person to act. The Panel of Chairpersons, nominated under the Lok Sabha Rules, supports this arrangement. Panel members are not elected Deputy Speakers and cannot be treated as permanent substitutes for that constitutional office.

Under Article 100, the Deputy Speaker, when acting as Speaker, does not vote in the first instance but exercises a casting vote if votes are equally divided. When not presiding, the Deputy Speaker may vote as an ordinary member. Thus, voting powers depend on whether the member is occupying the Chair, not merely on holding the title of Deputy Speaker.

Article 96 prohibits the Deputy Speaker from presiding when a resolution for their removal is under consideration, even if present in the House. The alternative presiding arrangement follows Article 95(2). The prohibition embodies the principle that a person should not control proceedings concerning their own removal. Similarly, when the Speaker’s removal is being considered, the Speaker cannot preside and the Deputy Speaker may occupy the Chair.

• Vacancy: the office has no incumbent; absence: the incumbent is unavailable for a sitting.
• When the Speaker is absent from a joint sitting, the Deputy Speaker is next in the prescribed order of presiding officers.
• Where the Deputy Speaker is appointed to a parliamentary committee, parliamentary practice accords the Deputy Speaker its chairmanship.

4. Parliamentary convention and the problem of vacancy

Offering the Deputy Speaker’s office to an opposition party is an important convention associated with accommodation across party lines. However, neither Article 93 nor Rule 8 reserves the position for the Opposition, the largest opposition party or a recognised Leader of the Opposition. Historical practice has varied. A question claiming that opposition membership is constitutionally compulsory is therefore incorrect.

The entire term of the 17th Lok Sabha, from 2019 to 2024, passed without election of a Deputy Speaker. Parliamentary sittings could continue through other presiding arrangements, but their functioning did not remove the obligation arising from Article 93. This episode demonstrates that operational continuity and constitutional compliance are distinct questions.

The constitutional concern is strengthened by the words 'shall' and 'as soon as may be'. Absence of a numerical deadline does not make the office discretionary. At the same time, the Constitution does not specify an automatic penalty, a default elected office-holder or an express mechanism transferring the election to an outside authority after delay. An exam answer should distinguish the constitutional obligation from these unresolved enforcement questions.

• Institutional value: continuity, neutrality and protection of deliberation.
• Political value: an opportunity for government–opposition cooperation.
• Possible reform: clearer procedural timelines without undermining the House’s authority to elect its officers.

5. Judicial context and high-yield examination distinctions

Article 122 protects parliamentary proceedings from challenge merely on the ground of an alleged procedural irregularity. It should not be read as blanket immunity for every constitutional violation. In Raja Ram Pal v. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha (2007), the Supreme Court recognised the availability of judicial review on limited constitutional grounds while respecting parliamentary autonomy. The case concerned parliamentary expulsion, not a judicially prescribed deadline for electing a Deputy Speaker.

In February 2023, the Supreme Court issued notices in a petition concerning vacancies in Deputy Speaker offices in the Lok Sabha and several State Assemblies. Issuing notice is not equivalent to a final judgment directing an election within a universally applicable period. For examination purposes, avoid attributing a fixed constitutional deadline or a conclusive ruling to this procedural development.

• President-appointed Deputy Speaker: incorrect; the House elects the office-holder.
• Simple majority for removal: incorrect; a majority of all the then members is required.
• Casting vote on every question: incorrect; it arises only upon an equality of votes while presiding.
• Mandatory opposition nominee: incorrect; it is convention, not constitutional reservation.
• Speaker’s post-dissolution continuation automatically applies to Deputy Speaker: incorrect.

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