Article 182

Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Legislative Council

Official heading: “The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council.”

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 182, printed page 82
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Article 182 mandates that every State Legislative Council shall choose two of its members to be Chairman and Deputy Chairman, and fill vacancies as they occur.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 182 provides for the presiding officers of the State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) in bicameral States.

Unlike the Rajya Sabha at the Centre (where the Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman), the Legislative Council chooses both its Chairman and Deputy Chairman from among its own elected and nominated members.

The Chairman maintains legislative order, rules on points of procedure, and guides deliberations in the upper chamber.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

In a bicameral State like Uttar Pradesh or Karnataka, the Legislative Council convenes after biennial elections.

Core takeaway: Under Article 182, the Council elects a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman from among its sitting members.

Illustrative Notice: The Chairman must be a member of the Legislative Council, unlike the Vice-President in Parliament.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 182 establishes the internal presiding leadership of State Legislative Councils.

Elected internally by Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs).
Distinct from Rajya Sabha model: No ex-officio constitutional outsider.
Continuous duty to elect successors as vacancies arise.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

The Legislative Council of every State having such Council shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the Council to be respectively Chairman and Deputy Chairman thereof and, so often as the office of Chairman or Deputy Chairman becomes vacant, the Council shall choose another member to be Chairman or Deputy Chairman, 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 182, printed page 82 • 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