The document outlines the roles and responsibilities of key officials in the Lok Sabha, including the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Secretary-General. The Speaker oversees the orderly conduct of house proceedings, has the final authority on decisions, and maintains impartiality, while the Deputy Speaker assists in presiding and may engage in party politics. The Secretary-General serves as an advisor and is responsible for administrative functions and parliamentary records, maintaining a neutral position and remaining uncriticizable within the house.

1. 1
THE SPEAKER
If an assembly is to function in an orderly and efficient manner, there must be someone with
the authority to regulate its proceedings & working. The Constitution Provider for a speaker &
Dy. Speaker for Lok Sabha and a CHAIRMAN & a Dy. CHAIRMAN for RAJYA SABHA.
The VICE-PRESIDENT of India is the ex-officio chairman of the RAJYA SABHA.
The office of the SPEAKER evolved through a long period of intense struggle in British
Constitutional history. In the early days, when the House of Commons was a petitioning rather
than a law making body, the Speaker’s main function was to sum up the case of both sides at
the end of the debate & to present the views of the House to the crown. He was the
SPOKESMAN or the SPEAKER of the commons before the king.
The office of Speaker is one of prestige, splendour & authority. He is the head of Lok Sabha.
The smooth & orderly conduct of the business in the House is primarily his responsibility.
Within the house & in all matters connected with the House, his word is final.
Independence & Impartiality are the two important attributes of the office of the Speaker. In
the warrant of precedence, the speaker has been given a very high position. He comes next to
president, vice-president & the PM. His salary & allowances are charged on the consolidated
fund of India – i.e. they do not have to be voted by parliament. His conduct cannot be
discussed except on a substantive motion. Upon his election as Speaker, he dissociates himself
from the activities of his party.
The Speaker conducts the business & regulates the proceedings of the House. He performs
these functions in accordance with the provisions of the constitution & the RULES OF
PROCEDURE & CONDUCT OF BUSINESS in the LOK SABHA. He is the final Interpreter of
the provisions of the constitution and the rule of procedure within the House. In respect of
matters not specially provided for in the Rules, the Speaker has residuary powers to issue
directions. In doing so, he may call upon a member to place before him facts, evidence &
Information which he may consider necessary in arriving at a decision. But, once after
considering all the material, he gives a ruling, it must be accepted as final.
No member may speak unless a member is called upon or permitted by chair to speak. It is for
the speaker to determine in what order members would speak & how long a member should be
allowed to speak. He can order a member to discontinue his speech or to withdraw words or
expressions which he feels are unparliamentarily or undignified. He may order that anything
said by a member without his permission shall not go on record & that anything found
unparliamentarily shall be expunged.
The Speaker may ask a member to withdraw from the house for a day or part of a day for
disorderly behavior or may even suspend a member from the service of the House on a proper
motion for gross disorderly behavior. All members alike are subject to his discipline & they
have to exercise great care in showing him proper respect & obeying his rulings & decision. He
determines whether there is prima facie case for a matter relating to a breach of privilege or
contempt of the House, or the conduct of a member being raised or referred to a committee for
investigation. If he withholds his consent the matter does not proceed further.

2. 2
The Speaker has to be sensitive to the atmosphere in the House. Sometimes when there is
excitement, uproar or continuous interruption in the House, he has to employ, great tact, subtle
with the healthy humour to contain the situation, to relieve tension & to create conditions in
which orderly & relaxed debate can proceed. This is a gift which may be either natural or
cultivated, but in the hands of a wise & capable Speaker, it is certainly a weapon with
tremendous potential.
Messages on behalf of the house are sent or received with the authority of the speaker. The
speaker authenticates by his signature that a bill has been passed by the House before it is
presented to the President for assent. He is empowered to correct patent errors in Bill after it
has been passed by the House & to make such other changes in the Bill consequential on the
amendments accepted by the House. He communicates the decisions of the House to the
authority concerned & requires them to comply with the terms of such decisions.
All the parliamentary committees of the Lok Sabha are constituted by him or by the House.
They function under his control & directions. He appoints the chairmen of all committees &
issue directions in matters relating to their working. Committees like the BUSINESS
ADVISORY COMMITTEE, THE GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE &the RULES
COMMITTEE work directly under his chairmanship.
The Constitution gives the Speaker a special position in so for as relations between the Houses
in certain matters are concerned. He determines what matters are financial matters which fall
within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Lok Sabha. If he certifies a Bill to be MONEY BILL his
decision his final. Whenever, in the even of disagreement between the Houses on a legislative
measure, a joint sitting is called, he presides over such a joint-sitting & all the rules of
Procedure in such a sitting operate under his directions & orders.
The Speaker regulates the admission of visitors & press correspondents to the Galleries & is
responsible for security arrangements in regard thereto. In the event of any breach of his
orders, he may award necessary punishment to the visitors under the orders of the House. He
an issue summons, if a person is required to appear before the house on a charge of contempt
or breach of Privilege of the House. He can also issue a warrant of arrest against a member of
the House or an outsider, if a motion committing him to prison is adopted by the house.
It is for the Speaker to lay down the guidelines for the recognition of Parliamentary parties & to
recognize the leader of a party in opposition as the LEADER OF OPPOSITION. In all questions
of disqualification of a member of the LOK SABHA arising on the ground of defection, the
speaker has got the exclusive power to decide the matter. His decisions cannot be criticized in
the House or outside. He must be referred to with respect & held in high esteem. No person
can be arrested, nor can a legal process, civil or criminal, be served on him, within the precincts
of the House without obtaining the permission of the speaker.
The Speaker is the ex-officio President of the Indian PARLIAMENTARY GROUP, which in
India functions as the NATIONAL GROUP OF THE INTER PARLIAMENTARY UNION and
the Main branch of the COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION.

3. 3
DEPUTY SPEAKER
Whenever the Speaker is absent, the Dy. SPEAKER presides over the deliberations of the House
& so presiding, exercises all the powers of the speaker in the House under the RULES OF
PROCEDURE.
The Deputy Speaker is the chairman of the Budget committee which approves the budget
proposals of the SECRETARIAT before these are sent to the Ministry of Finance for
Incorporation in the General Budget.
Besides, this, unlike the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker has no function and responsibilities with
respect to the Secretariat of the Lok Sabha or its officers and staff. The Deputy Speaker is thus a
Deputy presiding officer but not a Deputy to the Speaker in the latter’s capacity as the overall
executive or administrative head of the secretariat or the house.
Deputy speaker presides over the House for the greater part of a sitting of the House, while the
speaker is busy attending to other parliamentary matters in his chamber. The Deputy
Speaker’s rulings are final in so far as the matters under discussion on which they were given
are concerned, but the speaker may for the sake of certainty of procedure & uniformity of
practice give general guidance to be followed in future in similar circumstances. Occasionally
the deputy Speaker may reserve a matter for a ruling by the speaker or may consult him before
giving a decision.
Unlike the speaker, the Dy. Speaker has a right to speak in the House, to take part in its
deliberations and to vote on any proposition before the house as a member, but this he can do
only when the speaker is presiding. When Speaker is absent from a Joint-sitting of the
Houses of parliament, the Dy. Speaker presides & exercises the powers of the Speaker.
The Dy. Speaker may take part in the politics of the party to which he belongs, although in
practice he, as for as possible, keeps aloof from participation in order to maintain a position of
impartiality in the House.
Under the conventions and traditions that have grown round the Deputy speaker’s office, if he
is nominated or appointed a member of a parliamentary committee, he is also appointed its
chairman. Also, the office of the deputy speaker is usually filled by a member of the
opposition.
PANEL OF CHAIRMAN
If both the speaker and the deputy speaker are absent from a sitting, one of the members of the House
out of a panel of Six Chairmen, whom the speaker nominates from time to time, presides.
Like the Deputy Speaker, a chairman has all the powers of the Speakers in the House during
the time he is presiding. A ruling given by the chairman is final & binding it in the case and on
the point it is given in the same way as a ruling given by the speaker.
It is contempt of the House to denigrate his conduct while he is in the chair; he must be shown
all respect as is due to a Presiding Officer in the house.
The Speaker invariably chooses members on the Panel of Chairman from both the ruling as well
as opposition parties. The duration of the office of a chairman on the panel is normally one year,
but the same person may be re nominated over & over again.

4. 4
THE SECRETARY GENERAL
The 3rd Important officer of the House is the SECRETARY-GENERAL.
He is the advisor to the speaker, to the House & to the members on all Parliamentary functions
& activities & all matters of procedure & practice. The SECRETARY-GENERAL is the
custodian of parliamentary conventions & traditions & the repository of the accumulated
wisdom & experience of many earlier houses.
The SECRETARY-GENERAL discharges in his own right many legislative, administrative &
executive functions & renders services & provides facilities to the members.
He is the overall incharge of the watch & ward organization & security in the precincts of the
parliament estate. The parliament library, research, reference, documentation & information
services also function under him. As the overall head of the Parliamentary Museum &
Archives, he is the custodian of the heritage of parliament & the keeper of all parliamentary
records & Archives.
His role is that of a friend, philosopher & guide to the members & the committees. To a very
large extent he has to maintain the same role of Impartiality & objectivity as that observed by
the Speaker. One who occupies the position of Secretary general, therefore, must be a man of
parts and versatile in the manifold functions of the parliament.
The Secretary General is unconnected with politics. He is chosen from amongst those who
have made their mark in the service of parliament in various capacities in the secretariat of the
House. Once appointed, he remains in his post until he attains the prescribed age of
retirement, which at present is 60 years.
He is not subject to criticism in the House & his actions are not discussed either inside or
outside the House. He is answerable only to the speaker and sufficient safeguards are
provided to give him security of service & Independence.
The Secretary-General issues summons on behaf of the president asking members to attend a
session of the House. He authenticates bills in the absence of the Speaker.
He sends & receives messages on behalf of the House; receives notices, petitions, documents &
papers addressed to or intended for the house; issues summons under his signature to
witnesses to appear before the house or committees thereof, corresponds with members
including ministers and others on behalf of the speaker; issues admission tickets to the
galleries; controls the finances & accounts of the House & its secretariat; circulates lists of
Business, bulletins & notice of amendments; prepares the journal, minutes & verbatim records
of the House etc.,
As the overall head of the BUREAU OF PARLIAMENTARY STUDIES & TRAINING, he
organizes many study courses, seminars, training and orientation programmes for probationers
of IAS, IFS & to several others.
As the Secretary of the INDIAN PARLIAMENTARY Group, he also organizes the activities of
the India Branch of the commonwealth parliamentary association & the Inter parliamentary
union.
When the commonwealth Speaker’s conference is held in the country, the SECRETARY-
GENERAL of Lok Sabha is the ex-officio Secretary-General of the Conference.

5. 5
The relationship between the Speaker & the Secretory General is very unique, intimate &
almost indefinable. The powers of the Speaker that may be exercised by the SECRETARY-
GENERAL, for instance, in the matter of allowing or disallowing of various kinds of notices of
questions, motions etc., are not exercised by delegation.