Deputy Speaker

October 21, 2021 February 20, 2022

The Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha acts as the presiding officer when the speaker is on leave or during absence caused by death or illness of the speaker. He is not a subordinate to the speaker of Lok Sabha.

About Deputy Speaker

He is elected during the first meting of the Lok Sabha. He holds office for a period of five years. He shall be removed from office by effective majority. That is, supported by more than 50% of the total strength of the house. The parliamentary convention is that the Deputy speaker comes from the opposition. However, he need not resign from his party to become a speaker.

Article 93

The Article 93 provides election provisions of both speaker and deputy speaker.

Other constitutional provisions

Article 94: Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall vacate his office if he resigns or ceases to be a member of the house. He shall also be removed by effective majority.

Article 95: The deputy speaker shall preside over the functions of the speaker in his absence

Is it mandatory to have a deputy speaker?

Yes. In Article 93, the Constitution uses the word “shall” while speaking about the election of deputy speaker of lok sabha. In Article 178, it uses the words “as soon as maybe” while speaking about the deputy speaker of legislative assemblies. This means that the election of speaker and deputy speaker must be held at the earliest.

Time-frame in electing the Deputy Speaker

The deputy speaker is elected during the first session of Lok Sabha after elections. This is usually on the third day after oath taking. However, the election in realty is held during second session due to genuine unavoidable constraints. There is no rule that it should be held in the first session. The constitution gives no time frame to conduct the election of the deputy speaker.

Rule 8 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct Business in Lok Sabha on Deputy Speaker

The election of deputy speaker is governed by Rule 8 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. According to the rule, the election shall be held on the date as decided by the speaker.