Article 178

Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly

Official heading: “The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part VI, Article 178, printed page 81
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 178 mandates that every State Legislative Assembly shall choose two of its members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and fill vacancies as they arise.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 178 provides for the presiding officers of the State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha), mirroring Article 93 for the Lok Sabha.

The Legislative Assembly must, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The Speaker is the constitutional guardian of the Assembly's powers, privileges, and procedural order, remaining in office even after the Assembly is dissolved until immediately before the first meeting of the new Assembly.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

Following general elections, newly sworn-in MLAs convene for the first session of the Legislative Assembly.

Core takeaway: Under Article 178, one of the Assembly's first constitutional duties is to elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from among its members.

Illustrative Notice: A pro-tem Speaker is appointed temporarily by the Governor under statutory convention to administer oaths until the regular Speaker is elected.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 178 establishes the constitutional leadership of the Legislative Assembly.

Mandatory election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker from among MLAs.
Impartial presiding authority representing the dignity of the House.
Continuous filling of vacancies as often as they occur.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

Every Legislative Assembly of a State shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the Assembly to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the Assembly shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part VI, Article 178, printed page 81 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource