Pro tem Speaker

Also called: Speaker pro tem · Topic: Parliamentary Procedure, Committees and Privileges · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The pro tem Speaker ("pro tem" means "for the time being") is a Lok Sabha member whom the President appoints to do the Speaker's duties when the offices of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are vacant (Art. 95(1)) [2]. Usually this is the senior-most member.

This matters most when a new Lok Sabha meets for the first time. At that moment the House has no Speaker yet. The pro tem Speaker swears in the new members and runs the election of the regular Speaker. This keeps the House working until it has its own presiding officer.

Explanation

Why the post is needed

• The old Speaker's term ends when the new House first meets.
• When the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the Speaker does not leave office at once.

• The Speaker stays in office until just before the new House first meets (proviso to Art. 94).

• So the new House starts with no presiding officer.

• The Speaker's office is vacant.

• The Deputy Speaker's office is vacant too, because the new House has not yet elected one.

• The Constitution fills this gap.

• When both offices are vacant, the President appoints a member to do the Speaker's duties (Art. 95(1)) [2].
• This member is the Speaker pro tem.

How it works, step by step

1. Appointment: after a general election, the President appoints a member of the new House as pro tem Speaker. Usually this is the senior-most member, meaning the one with the most terms as an MP.
2. Oath of the pro tem Speaker: this member takes the oath before the President. Under Art. 99, every member takes the oath before the President or a person the President appoints.
3. Oath of the other members: the pro tem Speaker presides over the first sitting and swears in the newly elected members.
4. Election of the Speaker: the pro tem Speaker conducts the election of the Speaker. The House elects the Speaker from among its own members (Art. 93).
5. End of the role: once the House elects a Speaker, the pro tem Speaker's job is over. The post exists only "for the time being".

Conditions and limits

• The post is temporary. It lasts only while both the Speaker's and the Deputy Speaker's offices are vacant.
• The President appoints this member. The House does not elect them. This is the opposite of how the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are chosen.
• Seniority is a convention, not a rule. The Constitution does not say the senior-most member must be chosen. That is why the choice can be disputed.
• It applies to a vacancy, not to an absence.
• If the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are only absent, a member of the panel of chairpersons presides. This panel is a list of up to ten members nominated by the Speaker.
• The panel cannot preside when both offices are vacant. Then a member appointed by the President acts (Art. 95(1)).

In the Constitution and practice

• Constitutional basis:
• Art. 95(1): when the Speaker's office is vacant, the Deputy Speaker does the Speaker's duties. If the Deputy Speaker's office is also vacant, a member appointed by the President does them [2].
• Proviso to Art. 94: the outgoing Speaker leaves office just before the new House first meets, so a vacancy arises at the first sitting.
• Art. 93: the House elects its Speaker and Deputy Speaker. The pro tem Speaker conducts this election.

• Art. 99: members take their oath before the President or a person the President appoints.

• Who uses it: the President makes the appointment. The member appointed presides only at the start of a new Lok Sabha.

• Practice: 2024 (18th Lok Sabha):
• Bhartruhari Mahtab was appointed pro tem Speaker.
• The opposition disputed the choice. It said K. Suresh had the stronger claim by seniority, since he had served more terms as an MP.

• The House then re-elected Om Birla as Speaker in June 2024 by voice vote (the chair judges whether the "Ayes" or the "Noes" are louder). K. Suresh stood against him. A contest for Speaker is rare.

• Lesson from 2024: the seniority rule is only a convention. The government of the day effectively decides who is appointed, so the choice can become political.

Don't confuse with

• Speaker (Art. 93): the Speaker is elected by the House and holds office for the whole life of the House. The pro tem Speaker is appointed by the President and acts only until the Speaker is elected.
• Deputy Speaker (Art. 93, Art. 95): the Deputy Speaker is elected and acts when the Speaker's office is vacant or the Speaker is absent. The pro tem Speaker comes in only when the Deputy Speaker's office is also vacant.
• Panel of chairpersons: a panel member presides when the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are absent. When both offices are vacant, the member appointed by the President acts instead.
• Rajya Sabha Chairman: the Vice-President is Chairman ex officio (because they hold that office) under Art. 89(1). The office does not lapse when a new Lok Sabha is elected, so the Rajya Sabha does not have the same first-sitting gap.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 95(1): when both the Speaker's and the Deputy Speaker's offices are vacant, a member appointed by the President does the Speaker's duties. This member is the Speaker pro tem [2].
• The pro tem Speaker is appointed by the President, not elected by the House. Usually they are the senior-most member, but this is only a convention.
• Main jobs: swearing in new members and conducting the election of the Speaker.
• Trap: absent Speaker and Deputy Speaker means the panel of chairpersons presides. Vacant offices mean a member appointed by the President presides.
• Proviso to Art. 94: the outgoing Speaker stays in office until just before the new House first meets. This vacancy is why a pro tem Speaker is needed.
• 2024: Bhartruhari Mahtab was appointed pro tem Speaker. The opposition said K. Suresh had the stronger claim by seniority.

Mains Points

• Convention against discretion.
• The rule of picking the senior-most member is not written in the Constitution. So the government can depart from it, as the 2024 dispute over Bhartruhari Mahtab and K. Suresh showed.

• Reform idea: write the seniority rule into the Rules of Procedure. This would stop the first act of a new House from becoming a party fight.

• A neutral start to the House.

• The pro tem Speaker runs the Speaker's election. Their fairness therefore shapes trust in the presiding office from the first day.

• In India, presiding officers remain party figures, unlike in Britain. A clear and neutral pro tem process helps protect the Speaker's image as a fair umpire.

• Link to the Deputy Speaker vacancy.

• Art. 95(1) works smoothly only if the House fills its presiding offices quickly. Art. 93 says the House shall choose a Deputy Speaker "as soon as may be".
• The Deputy Speaker's post stayed empty for the whole 17th Lok Sabha [1]. It was still empty in the 18th Lok Sabha in February 2026 [3]. This shows how stopgap arrangements can turn into lasting gaps when there is no deadline.

Related concepts

• Speaker of the Lok Sabha
• Removal of the Speaker
• Casting vote
• Deputy Speaker
• Panel of chairpersons
• Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
• Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
• Panel of vice-chairpersons
• Voice vote
• Division

Read more

• Presiding officers and the conduct of business