Lokasabha

The House of the People is popularly known

as the Lok Sabha.
It is the lower and powerful house of the
Union Parliament.
It represents the people of India. It is directly
elected by all the people.
 It is fully democratic, representative and
national House.
Composition:
The present membership of the Lok Sabha is 545, out of
these 523 are elected by the people of all Indian States and
20 by the people of the Union Territories.
The President nominates two members of the Anglo-
Indian Community to the Lok Sabha.
 The maximum membership of the Lok Sabha stands
fixed at 552 till the year 2010.
Method of Election of the Members of Lok Sabha:
The members of the Lok Sabha are elected on the basis of the
following principles:
(a) Universal Adult Franchise:
Every citizen who has attained the minimum age of 18 years
has the right to vote in the elections to the Lok Sabha.
(b) Reservation of Seats for SCs and STs:
Some constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes. These are called Reserved Constituencies.
From each reserved constituency only candidates belonging to
SCs or STs, as the case may be, can contest elections.
Qualifications for Membership of the Lok Sabha:
(1) He must be a citizen of India.
(2) He must not be less than 25 years of age.
(3) He must not hold any office of profit in the
Government.
(4) He should not have an unsound mind or be a
bankrupt.
(5) He should not be a declared offender of a grave
crime by any court.
(6) He should possess all such qualifications
prescribed by the Parliament.
Tenure:
The normal term of the Lok Sabha is five years.
This term can be extended for one year during an
emergency.
 But fresh elections to the Lok Sabha must be held
within six months of the end of emergency.
Further, the President can dissolve the Lok Sabha
at any time when the Prime Minister may advise
him to do so or when no party may be in a position
to form a government.
 In this case also a new Lok Sabha has to be
essentially elected within six months.
Sessions:
The President can call the session of Parliament at any time but the
gap between two meetings of the Parliament cannot be of more than
six months.
It means in one year, a minimum of two sessions of the Lok Sabha
are essential.
Quorum:
For a meeting of the Lok Sabha the presence of at least 1/10th of its
total members is essential.
If 1/10th of the members are not present in a meeting of the Lok
Sabha, the Speaker of the House can adjourn the meeting for lack
of quorum.
Presiding Officers of Lok Sabha: Speaker and Deputy Speaker:
The Speaker is the chairman and presiding officer of the Lok Sabha.
In its very fastest meeting, every new Lok Sabha elects one of its
members as the Speaker and another one as the Deputy Speaker.
The Speaker presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha, conducts its
proceedings and maintains discipline and decorum in the House.
His authority is supreme in the House.
He acts as a neutral chairman in the House.
 In his absence these functions are performed by the Deputy Speaker.
When both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are not present in the
House, one member from the panel of chairmen (List of some veteran
and experienced MPs of the House) presides over the meeting.
Significance of the Office of Speaker of Lok Sabha
 The Speaker represents the full authority of the House, whereas
the members of Parliament represent the individual
constituencies.
 The Office of the Speaker symbolises the dignity, honour and
power of the House over which he/she is presiding.
 The Speaker is considered as the true guardian of the traditions of
parliamentary democracy.
 The activities/actions of the Speaker are under scrutiny in the
House, and he/she can’t overlook any aspect of parliamentary life.
 The Office of the Speaker has been given a very high position
(Seventh Rank) in the Warrant of Precedence in India, positioned
along with the Chief Justice of India and next only to the
President, the Vice-President and the Prime Minister. He/she has a
higher rank than all cabinet ministers.
Term/Tenure of Office
 The Speaker doesn’t vacate his/her office immediately whenever the
Lok Sabha is dissolved, but continues till the first meeting of the newly
elected Lok Sabha.
 When the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the Speaker ceases to be a member
of the house, but he/she doesn’t vacate his/her office.
 However, he/she has to vacate his office in any of the following three
cases:
 If he/she ceases to be a member of Lok Sabha;
 If he/she resigns by writing to the Deputy Speaker;
 If he/she is removed by a resolution passed in the Lok Sabha.
 He/She is eligible for re-election.
 Resignation – Who shall the Lok Sabha speaker submit his/her
resignation to?
 The Speaker may, at any time, resign from Office by writing under
his/her hand to the Deputy Speaker.
 Can Lok Sabha speaker be removed?
 The Speaker can be removed if a resolution is passed by a
majority of all the members of the Lok Sabha, that is,
by absolute majority and not by ordinary majority.
 It is also compulsory to give a minimum of 14 days’ advance
notice of the intention to move the resolution.
 The motion of removal can be considered and discussed only
when it has the support of at least 50 members of the
House.
 When a resolution for removal of the Speaker is under
consideration of the House, he/she cannot preside over the
House, but can speak and take part in the proceedings of
the House. Also, he/she can vote in the first instance, but not
in the case of an equality of votes.
How is the Speaker of Lok Sabha elected?
The date of election of the Speaker is fixed by the
President.
As soon as after the first sitting of the Lok Sabha, the
Speaker is elected by the House from amongst its
members.
Whenever the office of the Speaker falls vacant, the lower
House elects another member to fill the vacancy.
Election criteria –
 Simple majority of members present and voting in the House.
 No specific qualifications required.
Usually, a member belonging to the ruling party is elected
the Speaker.
 Powers and Functions of the Speaker
 The Speaker is the head of the Lok Sabha.
 He/she is the principal spokesperson of the House, and his decision in all
Parliamentary matters is final.
 The Speaker of the Lok Sabha derives his/her power from three sources:
 The Constitution of India
 The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha
 Parliamentary Conventions
 The primary responsibility of the Speaker is to maintain order and decorum
in the House for conducting its business and regulating its proceedings.
He/she has final power in this matter.
 He/she is the final interpreter of the provisions of
 The Constitution of India
 The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha
 Parliamentary precedents
 He/she can adjourn the proceedings of the House or suspends the meeting in
absence of a quorum.
 Voting powers
 He/she doesn’t vote in the first instance.
 But he/she can exercise a casting vote in the case of a tie.
 The Speaker presides over a joint sitting of the two houses of
Parliament. The President summons a joint sitting to resolve a
deadlock between the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the matters of a
bill.
 He/she can allow for a ‘secret’ sitting of the House at the request of
the Leader of the House.
 He/she decides whether the bill is a money bill or not, and his/her
decision on this matter is final.
 The Speaker is the ex-officio chairman of the Indian Parliamentary
Group (IPG) setup in 1949. To read more about
Indian Parliamentary Group, check the linked article.
 The Speaker is also the ex-officio chairman of the conference of
presiding officers of legislative bodies in the country.
Role of Speaker in Committees
The Speaker appoints the chairman of all
Parliamentary Committees of the Lok Sabha.
He/she supervises the functioning of the
committees and takes care of procedural
problems, if any.
Speaker is the chairman of the following
committees:
Business Advisory Committee,
General Purposes Committee,
Rules Committee.
Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha
 The Deputy Speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker.
 He/she is directly responsible to the House.
 Election of Deputy Speaker
 Election criteria –
 Simple majority of members present and voting in the House.
 No specific qualifications required.
 Similar to the election of Speaker, the Deputy Speaker is also
elected by the Lok Sabha itself from amongst its members.
 He/she is elected after the election of the Speaker.
 The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the
Speaker.
 While assuming the office of the Deputy Speaker, he/she do not
make and subscribe any separate oath o
Duties of the Deputy Speaker
He/she performs the duties of the Speaker’s
office when it is vacant.
He/she acts as the Speaker when the latter is
absent from the sitting of the House.
In the above two case, the Deputy Speaker
assumes all the responsibilities and powers of
the Speaker.
In case the Speaker is absent, the Deputy
Speaker can also preside over the joint sitting
of the Houses of Parliament.
One Special Privilege
Whenever the Deputy Speaker is appointed as a member of a
parliamentary committee, he/she automatically becomes its
chairman.
 Privileges of Members:
Lok Sabha MPs enjoy several privileges.
They enjoy unrestricted freedom to express their views in
the House.
No action can be taken against them for anything said by
them in the House.
 They cannot be detained for any civil offence during and
40 days before and after the session of the Lok Sabha.
 Their arrest in criminal cases can be made only after the
Speaker has been informed of it.
Powers and Functions of the Lok Sabha:
 Legislative Powers:
An ordinary bill can become law only after it has been
passed by both the Houses of Parliament.
It can be introduced either in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya
Sabha.
When a bill is introduced and passed by the Lok Sabha, it
is sent to the Rajya Sabha.
After it has secured the approval of Rajya Sabha, it goes
to the President for his signature.
After this it becomes a law.
Although ordinary bills can be introduced in either of the
two houses of Parliament, almost 90% of the bills are
actually introduced in the Lok Sabha.
In case the Rajya Sabha rejects a bill passed by the Lok
Sabha and returns it with or without some amendments,
the Lok Sabha reconsiders the bill.
If the Lok Sabha re-passes it and the Rajya Sabha is still
not prepared to pass it, a deadlock occurs.
If this deadlock remains unresolved for six months, the
President summons a joint sitting of the two Houses.
 The decision of the joint sitting is accepted by both the
Houses.
Executive Powers:
 For all its work, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible before
the Lok Sabha.
 The leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha becomes the Prime Minister.
 Most of the ministers are from the Lok Sabha.
 The Lok Sabha maintains a continuous control over the Council of
Ministers.
 MPs can ask questions from ministers about their policies and activities of
administration.
 They can criticise their policies.
 They can move and adopt several types of resolutions and can reject any
bill of the government.
Financial Powers:
 The Lok Sabha has vast financial powers.
 A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha.
 After having been passed by it, the money bill goes to the Rajya Sabha.
 Such a bill can be delayed by the Rajya Sabha for a maximum period of 14 days.
 If the Rajya Sabha fails to pass a money bill and 14 days elapse from the date of the
submission of the bill to it, the money bill is deemed to have been passed by both
the houses of Parliament.
 It is sent to the President for his signature.
 In case of any dispute as to whether a particular bill is a money bill or not, the
Speaker of the Lok Sabha gives the decision.
 His decision is final and it cannot be challenged in any court or even in the Rajya
Sabha or the Lok Sabha.
 Thus, we can any that the Lok Sabha has the final control over the finances of state.
 Judicial Powers:
 The Lok Sabha also performs some judicial functions.
 The impeachment proceedings can be taken up against the President either in the Lok
Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.
 The President can be removed from office only when an impeachment resolution is
adopted by each of the two Houses with a 2/3 majority of its members.
 The Lok Sabha also investigates the charges prepared by the Rajya Sabha against the
Vice-President of India.
 The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha can together pass a resolution for the removal of
any judge of the Supreme Court or of a State High Court.
 Both the Houses can jointly pass a special address and present it to the President for
the removal of some high officers of the state like the Attorney General, the Chief
Election Commissioner and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Lok Sabha
can also take action against any member or any citizen who is held to be guilty of
committing contempt of the House.
ARTICLE 85 :
SESSIONS OF PARLIAMENT, PROROGATI
ON AND DISSOLUTION
(1) The President shall from time to time
summon each House of Parliament to meet at
such time and place as he thinks fit, but six
months shall not intervene between its lasting
sitting in one session and the date appointed
for its first sitting in the next session.
(2) The President may from time to time –
(a) prorogue the Houses or either House;
(b) dissolve the House of the People
ARTICLE 86 : RIGHT OF PRESIDENT TO
ADDRESS AND SEND MESSAGES TO HOUSES
(1) The President may address either House of
Parliament or both Houses assembled together, and
for that purpose require the attendance of members.
(2) The President may send messages to either
House of Parliament, whether with respect to a Bill
then pending in Parliament or otherwise, and a
House to which any message is so sent shall with all
convenient despatch consider any matter required
by the message to be taken into consideration.
ARTICLE 87 : SPECIAL ADDRESS BY THE
PRESIDENT
(1) At the commencement of the first session after
each general election to the House of the People
and at the commencement of the first session of
each year the President shall address both Houses
of Parliament assembled together and inform
Parliament of the causes of its summons.
(2) Provision shall be made by the rules regulating
the procedure of either House for the allotment of
time for discussion of the matters referred to in
such address.
ARTICLE 88 : RIGHTS OF MINISTERS
AND ATTORNEY-GENERAL AS RESPECTS
HOUSES
Every Minister and the Attorney-General of
India shall have the right to speak in, and
otherwise to take part in the proceeding of,
either House, any joint sitting of the Houses,
and
any committee of Parliament of which he may
be named a member,
but shall not by virtue of this article be