Deputy Speaker or Appointed Member Performing Duties of Speaker
Official heading: “Power of the Deputy Speaker or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or to act as, Speaker”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part V, Article 95, printed pages 42–43
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
- Not yet reviewed
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1. In One Sentence
Article 95 empowers the Deputy Speaker (or a member appointed by the President) to perform the duties of the Speaker during a vacancy, and provides for presiding in the Speaker’s absence.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 95 guarantees that the Lok Sabha always has an authoritative presiding officer to conduct its proceedings and maintain order.
Under clause (1), when the office of Speaker is vacant (e.g., due to resignation, death, or removal), the duties of the office are performed by the Deputy Speaker. If the office of Deputy Speaker is also vacant, the President may appoint any member of the House to perform those duties (such as a Pro-tem Speaker appointed after general elections).
Under clause (2), during the temporary absence of the Speaker from any sitting of the House, the Deputy Speaker presides. If the Deputy Speaker is also absent, a person determined by the rules of procedure (such as a member of the Panel of Chairpersons), or determined by the House, acts as Speaker.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
Immediately after general elections, all Lok Sabha seats are newly filled and the regular Speaker has not yet been elected.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 95 provides succession and functional arrangements for presiding over the Lok Sabha.
- Vacancy protocol: Deputy Speaker automatically steps in to perform Speaker duties.
- Dual vacancy: President appoints an MP to perform duties (Pro-tem Speaker).
- Sessional absence: Deputy Speaker or Panel of Chairpersons presides under rules of procedure.
- Maintains parliamentary decorum and procedural validity at all times.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part V, Article 95, printed pages 42–43 • 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.