Deputy Speaker

Also called: Article 93 · Topic: Parliamentary Procedure, Committees and Privileges · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Deputy Speaker is the second presiding officer of the Lok Sabha. The House elects the Deputy Speaker from among its own members (Art. 93). The Deputy Speaker runs the House as Speaker when the Speaker's office is vacant (Art. 95(1)) or the Speaker is absent (Art. 95(2)).

The post is a back-up, so that the House always has a lawful chair. It has been in the news because it stayed empty for the whole 17th Lok Sabha and was still empty in the 18th Lok Sabha in February 2026 [1][4].

Explanation

How the office works

Election (Art. 93): the Lok Sabha chooses a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from its own members. It must do so "as soon as may be" after the posts fall vacant. These words do not set a deadline.
When the Speaker's office is vacant (Art. 95(1)): the Deputy Speaker does all the Speaker's duties.
When the Speaker is absent from a sitting (Art. 95(2)): the Deputy Speaker presides.
While presiding: the Deputy Speaker has the Speaker's powers in the chair. This includes the casting vote (a vote used only to break a tie, Art. 100(1)).
Salary: under Art. 97, the salary is fixed by law and charged on the Consolidated Fund of India. This means Parliament does not vote on it each year.

Who presides when: the order of the chair

Situation	Who presides
Speaker absent	Deputy Speaker (Art. 95(2))
Speaker's office vacant	Deputy Speaker (Art. 95(1))
Speaker and Deputy Speaker both absent	A member of the panel of chairpersons: up to ten members nominated by the Speaker
Speaker's and Deputy Speaker's offices both vacant	A member appointed by the President, called the Speaker pro tem (Art. 95(1)) [2]

Exam trap: absent means a member of the panel presides. Vacant means a member appointed by the President presides.

How the Deputy Speaker leaves office (Art. 94)

Stops being an MP: leaves office automatically (Art. 94(a)).
Resigns: writes to the Speaker (Art. 94(b)). The Speaker, in turn, resigns by writing to the Deputy Speaker.
Is removed (Art. 94(c)): the steps are the same as for removing the Speaker. 1. Members give written notice of the resolution, at least 14 days in advance. 2. While the resolution is pending, the Deputy Speaker cannot preside (Art. 96). 3. The resolution must be passed by a majority of all the then members of the House. This is called an effective majority: a majority of the House's actual strength, leaving out vacant seats.

The Deputy Speaker's role when the Speaker faces removal

While a motion to remove the Speaker is pending, the Speaker cannot preside (Art. 96).
Normally the Deputy Speaker would chair that debate.
With no Deputy Speaker in office, this back-up is missing. Commentators called this a constitutional gap [4].

In the Constitution and practice

Constitutional basis: Arts. 93 to 97 deal with the Deputy Speaker. These cover election, leaving office, acting as Speaker, the bar on presiding while a removal resolution is pending, and salary.
Rajya Sabha counterpart: the Deputy Chairman, elected by the Rajya Sabha from its members (Art. 89(2)).
Convention: since the 1990s, the post has often gone to the opposition. This was a sign that the chair is shared and not owned by the ruling side.
17th Lok Sabha (June 2019 – February 2024):
It was the first Lok Sabha that never elected a Deputy Speaker in its whole term [1].
The vacancy goes against the wording "as soon as may be" in Art. 93. But no deadline exists, so nobody could enforce it.
18th Lok Sabha: the post was still vacant in February 2026 [4].
2026 motion to remove Speaker Om Birla:
On 10 February 2026, opposition members gave notice of a motion to remove him [3].
Om Birla stepped away from the chair once the motion came before the House [3].
The Lok Sabha rejected the motion by voice vote [3].
Because there was no Deputy Speaker to preside, the case showed the cost of leaving the post empty [4].

Don't confuse with

Speaker pro tem (Art. 95(1)): appointed by the President, not elected by the House. The pro tem Speaker acts only when both the Speaker's and Deputy Speaker's offices are vacant. This includes swearing in members and running the Speaker's election in a new House (for example, Bhartruhari Mahtab in 2024).
Panel of chairpersons: up to ten members nominated by the Speaker. A member of the panel presides when both officers are absent, never when both offices are vacant.
Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Art. 89(2)): the Rajya Sabha's version of the post. That officer stands in for the Chairman (the Vice-President, ex officio) under Art. 91. The Deputy Speaker stands in for the Speaker.
Leader of the Opposition: a party leader recognised by the Speaker. This is not a presiding officer, even though the Deputy Speaker's post has, by convention, often gone to the opposition.

Prelims Hooks

Art. 93: the Lok Sabha elects both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker from its own members. The President does not appoint either of them.
Art. 94(b): the Deputy Speaker resigns to the Speaker, and the Speaker resigns to the Deputy Speaker. Neither resigns to the President.
Art. 94(c): removal needs a majority of all the then members (effective majority) and 14 days' notice.
Art. 95: the Deputy Speaker acts when the Speaker's office is vacant (95(1)) or the Speaker is absent (95(2)). If both offices are vacant, a member appointed by the President acts [2].
17th Lok Sabha (2019–24): the first Lok Sabha never to elect a Deputy Speaker for its whole term [1]. The post was still vacant in the 18th Lok Sabha in February 2026 [4].
Trap: the "as soon as may be" wording in Art. 93 sets no time limit. So a long vacancy is not, on its own, a clear breach that courts can enforce.

Mains Points

The vacancy and constitutional morality
The post was empty for the whole 17th Lok Sabha and was still empty in the 18th as of February 2026 [1][4].
This goes against the spirit of Art. 93's "as soon as may be".
It also ended the convention of giving the post to the opposition, which weakens the idea of a shared, neutral chair.
Possible reforms: a fixed time limit in the Rules of Procedure, or a convention backed by law.
A gap in institutional checks
When the Speaker faces a removal motion, the Speaker cannot preside (Art. 96).
The Deputy Speaker is the natural chair for that debate.
In the 2026 motion against Om Birla, no Deputy Speaker was available [3][4].
A missing back-up officer weakens the main tool the House has to hold its own Speaker to account.
Fairness of the chair
In India, presiding officers remain party figures, unlike the Speaker in Britain.
A Deputy Speaker from the opposition gives the minority a share in running the House. This builds trust in rulings on order, suspensions and voting.
Bringing back this convention is a simple, low-cost reform for a more deliberative Parliament.

Related concepts

Presiding officers and the conduct of business