About

• The Speaker is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha and is responsible for maintaining order and decorum during the proceedings of the House.
• The Speaker has a key role in parliamentary democracy.
• There are no specific qualifications for becoming Speaker, which means any member is entitled to be considered. 
• The salary of the Speaker is drawn from the Consolidated Fund of India.

How is the speaker elected?

• The Speaker is elected by the members of the Lok Sabha and holds office until the dissolution of the House. The Speaker is elected by a simple majority in the House. 
• The Constitution of India provides for the offices of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. 
• After a new house is constituted electing the Speaker is one of the first acts that is done.
• After a pro tem or temporary Speaker administers the oath to new members, the Speaker is chosen to be the Presiding Officer of the House.
• Article 93(1) of the Indian Constitution states that the House of the People, also known as the Lok Sabha, shall elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from among its members. 

Term

• The term of the speaker ends with the dissolution of the House, unless the Speaker resigns or is removed from office before that. 
• The Speaker can be removed from office by a resolution passed by an absolute majority of the members of the House.
• A motion of no-confidence can be moved against the Speaker with notice of 14 days as per Article 94 of the Constitution. 
• The Speaker, like any other member of the House, can face disqualification.

Powers of the Speaker 

• • Conducting the House: 
    • The Speaker decides how the house has to be conducted. 
    • The conduct of government business is decided by the Speaker in consultation with the Leader of the House. 
    • Prior permission of the Speaker is required for members to ask a question, or to discuss any matter
    • There are Rules and Procedure for the functioning of the House, but the Speaker has vast powers in ensuring these Rules are followed, and in choosing procedures. 
    • This makes the impartiality of the Speaker a crucial check and balance for the Opposition to have its say in the House.

• Interpretation of the Constitution: 

• • The speaker is the final interpreter of the provisions of the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure and COnduct of Business in the Lok Sabaha

• Questions and Records: 
  • The Speaker decides the admissibility of a question raised by a member, as well as how the proceedings of the House are published. 
  • The Speaker has the power to expunge (remove completely) in full or in part, remarks that he/she may consider to be unparliamentary. 

• • Casting Vote: 
    • According to Article 100 of the Constitution, which talks about voting in the Houses, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha or Speaker of Lok Sabha, or any person acting as such, shall not vote in the first instance, but shall have an exercise a casting vote in the case of any equality of votes.

• Money Bill:

• • The Speaker decides whether a bill is a Money Bill or not and the Speaker’s decision is final on this question.

• Disqualification of members

• • The Tenth Schedule or the anti-defection law, introduced to the Constitution through the Fifty-Second (Amendment) Act, 1985, gives the Speaker of the House the power to disqualify legislators who ‘defect’ from a party. 
  • In the landmark case Kihoto Hollohan versus Zachillhu in 1992, the Supreme Court upheld the power vested in the Speaker and said that only the final order of the Speaker will be subject to judicial review.
  • In 2020, the Supreme Court had ruled that Speakers of Assemblies and Lok Sabha must decide disqualification pleas within three months except in extraordinary circumstances.

Sources

• https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-law/powers-of-the-speaker-9384272/
• https://constitutionsimplified.in/blog-post94