Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabhā Adhyakṣa
	Emblem of the Lok Sabha
	Flag of India
	Incumbent; Om Birla; since 19 June 2019
	Lok Sabha
Style	Honourable (Inside India); His/Her Excellency (Outside India);
Type	Speaker
Status	Presiding officer of the Lok Sabha; Cabinet Rank Post;
Member of	Lok Sabha
Reports to	Parliament of India
Residence	20, Akbar Road, New Delhi, Delhi, India
Seat	118, Rafi Marg, New Delhi, Delhi, India
Appointer	All Members of Parliament (Lok Sabha)
Term length	During the life of the Lok Sabha (five years maximum); renewable
Constituting instrument	Article 93 of the Constitution of India
Precursor	President of the Constituent Assembly of India
Inaugural holder	Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar (1952–1956)
Formation	15 May 1952
Deputy	Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Salary	• ₹450,000 (US$5,400); (per month); • ₹5,400,000 (US$65,000); (annually)
Website	speakerloksabha.nic.in

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. The speaker does not enjoy a security of tenure and his term is subjected to the pleasure of the house i.e. can be removed anytime by a resolution of the Lok Sabha by a majority of the all the then members of the house.^[3] The longest-serving speaker was Balram Jakhar, whose tenure lasted 9 years and 329 days.

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 the speaker should be someone accepted among the ruling and opposition parties.

After the general elections, the President of India notifies the first meeting of the Lok Sabha as well as the date for the election of the Speaker. Generally either on the day of the election of the Speaker or a day before it, the Prime Minister or the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs proposes the name of the candidate. Any other candidate may also submit their names . There have been three instances viz. 1952, 1967, 1976 when there were elections to the speaker post.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] 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. The successful candidate is elected as Speaker of the Lok Sabha.^[8]

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.^[9]

Removal of the speaker

Speaker can be removed by the Lok Sabha by a resolution passed by the majority of all the then members of the house as per Constitution of India [Articles 94].^[10]

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.^[11]

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 forwards the name to the President of India. The President of India appoints the Protem Speaker.^[12]^[13]

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

No.	Portrait	Speaker (Birth-Death)	Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Lok Sabha	Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
No.	Portrait	Speaker (Birth-Death)	Constituency	From	To	Period	Political party	Lok Sabha	Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
14		Somnath Chatterjee (1929–2018)	Bolpur	24 May 2004	3 August 2004	71 days	Communist Party of India (Marxist)	14th (2004)		Ghulam Nabi Azad
15		Manikrao Hodlya Gavit (1934–2022)	Nandurbar	31 May 2009	4 June 2009	4 days	Indian National Congress	15th (2009)		Pawan Kumar Bansal
16		Kamal Nath (born 1946)	Chhindwara	11 June 2014	15 June 2014	4 days	Indian National Congress	16th (2014)		M. Venkaiah Naidu
17		Virendra Kumar Khatik (born 1954)	Tikamgarh	17 June 2019	19 June 2019	2 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	17th (2019)		Pralhad Joshi
18		Bhartruhari Mahtab (born 1957)	Cuttack	24 June 2024	26 June 2024	2 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	18th (2024)		Kiren Rijiju

List of speakers

Note:

^† Died in office

^§ Resigned

No.	Portrait	Speaker (Birth-Death)	Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Lok Sabha	Deputy Speaker
No.	Portrait	Speaker (Birth-Death)	Constituency	From	To	Period	Political party	Lok Sabha	Deputy Speaker
1		G. V. Mavalankar (1888–1956)	Ahmedabad	15 May 1952	27 February 1956^[†]	3 years, 288 days	Indian National Congress	1st (1951–52)		M. A. Ayyangar
2		M. A. Ayyangar (1891–1978)	Chittoor	8 March 1956	4 April 1957	6 years, 22 days		1st (1951–52)		Hukam Singh
2		M. A. Ayyangar (1891–1978)	Chittoor	5 April 1957	31 March 1962	6 years, 22 days		2nd (1957)		Hukam Singh
3		Hukam Singh (1895–1983)	Patiala	17 April 1962	16 March 1967	4 years, 333 days		3rd (1962)		S. V. Krishnamoorthy Rao
4		Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913–1996)	Hindupur	17 March 1967	19 July 1969^[§]	2 years, 124 days		4th (1967)		Raghunath Keshav Khadilkar
5		Gurdial Singh Dhillon (1915–1992)	Tarn Taran	8 August 1969	17 March 1971	6 years, 110 days	Indian National Congress (R)			Raghunath Keshav Khadilkar
				8 August 1969	17 March 1971					G. G. Swell
				22 March 1971	1 December 1975^[§]			5th (1971)
6		Bali Ram Bhagat (1922–2011)	Arrah	15 January 1976	25 March 1977	1 year, 69 days		5th (1971)
(4)		Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913–1996)	Nandyal	26 March 1977	13 July 1977^[§]	109 days	Janata Party	6th (1977)		Godey Murahari
7		K. S. Hegde (1909–1990)	Bangalore South	21 July 1977	21 January 1980	2 years, 184 days	Janata Party	6th (1977)		Godey Murahari
8		Balram Jakhar (1923–2016)	Ferozpur	22 January 1980	15 January 1985	9 years, 329 days	Indian National Congress (I)	7th (1980)		G. Lakshmanan
8		Balram Jakhar (1923–2016)	Sikar	16 January 1985	18 December 1989	9 years, 329 days	Indian National Congress (I)	8th (1984)		M. Thambidurai
9		Rabi Ray (1926–2017)	Kendrapara	19 December 1989	9 July 1991	1 year, 202 days	Janata Dal	9th (1989)		Shivraj Patil
10		Shivraj Patil (born 1935)	Latur	10 July 1991	22 May 1996	4 years, 317 days	Indian National Congress (I)	10th (1991)		S. Mallikarjunaiah
11		P. A. Sangma (1947–2016)	Tura	23 May 1996	23 March 1998	1 year, 304 days	Indian National Congress	11th (1996)		Suraj Bhan
12		G. M. C. Balayogi (1951–2002)	Amalapuram	24 March 1998	19 October 1999	3 years, 342 days	Telugu Desam Party	12th (1998)		P. M. Sayeed
12		G. M. C. Balayogi (1951–2002)	Amalapuram	22 October 1999	3 March 2002^[†]	3 years, 342 days	Telugu Desam Party	13th (1999)
13		Manohar Joshi (1937–2024)	Mumbai North Central	10 May 2002	2 June 2004	2 years, 23 days	Shiv Sena	13th (1999)
14		Somnath Chatterjee (1929–2018)	Bolpur	4 August 2004	4 June 2009	4 years, 304 days	Communist Party of India (Marxist)	14th (2004)		Charanjit Singh Atwal
15		Meira Kumar (born 1945)	Sasaram	4 June 2009	11 June 2014	5 years, 1 day	Indian National Congress	15th (2009)		Kariya Munda
16		Sumitra Mahajan (born 1943)	Indore	15 June 2014	17 June 2019^[14]	5 years, 4 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	16th (2014)		M. Thambidurai
17		Om Birla (born 1962)	Kota	19 June 2019	24 June 2024^[15]	5 years, 174 days		17th (2019)		Vacant
17		Om Birla (born 1962)	Kota	26 June 2024	Incumbent	5 years, 174 days		18th (2024)		Vacant