Officers of the State Legislature (Articles 178 to 187)

In this post under Clear IAS polity series on Indian Constitution, we discuss the Officers of the State Legislature. We have so far covered till Article 177 of Indian Constitution (previous posts can be accessed from the link Clear IAS Free Online Study Materials →Indian Polity Study Materials). In this post, we plan to cover Indian Constitution in detail from Article 178 to 187.

Officers of the State Legislature (Articles 178 to 187)

Articles from 178 to 187 deals with the officers of the state legislature. They include Speaker, Deputy speaker, Chairman of LC, Deputy Chairman of LC etc.

Article 178: The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

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.

Article 179: Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of an Assembly—
(a) shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the Assembly;
(b) may at any time by writing under his hand addressed, if such member is the Speaker, to the Deputy Speaker, and if such member is the Deputy Speaker, to the Speaker, resign his office; and
(c) may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Assembly passed by a majority of all the then members of the Assembly:
Provided that no resolution for the purpose of clause (c) shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution:
Provided further that, whenever the Assembly is dissolved, the Speaker shall not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the Assembly after the dissolution.

Article 180: Power of the Deputy Speaker or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or to act as, Speaker.

(1) While the office of Speaker is vacant, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker or, if the office of Deputy Speaker is also vacant, by such member of the Assembly as the Governor may appoint for the purpose.
(2) During the absence of the Speaker from any sitting of the Assembly the Deputy Speaker or, if he is also absent, such person as may be determined by the rules of procedure of the Assembly, or, if no such person is present, such other person as may be determined by the Assembly, shall act as Speaker.

Article 181: The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker not to preside while a resolution for his removal from office is under consideration.

(1) At any sitting of the Legislative Assembly, while any resolution for the removal of the Speaker from his office is under consideration, the Speaker, or while any resolution for the removal of the Deputy Speaker from his office is under consideration, the Deputy Speaker, shall not, though he is present, preside, and the provisions of clause (2) of article 180 shall apply in relation to every such sitting as they apply in relation to a sitting from which the Speaker or, as the case may be, the Deputy Speaker, is absent.
(2) The Speaker shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of, the Legislative Assembly while any resolution for his removal from office is under consideration in the Assembly and shall, notwithstanding anything in article 189, be entitled to vote only in the first instance on such resolution or on any other matter during such proceedings but not in the case of an equality of votes.

Article 182: The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council.

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.

Article 183: Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

A member holding office as Chairman or Deputy Chairman of a Legislative Council—
(a) shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the Council;
(b) may at any time by writing under his hand addressed, if such member is the Chairman, to the Deputy Chairman, and if such member is the Deputy Chairman, to the Chairman, resign his office; and
(c) may be removed from his office by a resolution of the Council passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council:
Provided that no resolution for the purpose of clause (c) shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution.

Article 184: Power of the Deputy Chairman or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or to act as, Chairman.

(1) While the office of Chairman is vacant, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy Chairman or, if the office of Deputy Chairman is also vacant, by such member of the Council as the Governor may appoint for the purpose.
(2) During the absence of the Chairman from any sitting of the Council the Deputy Chairman or, if he is also absent, such person as may be determined by the rules of procedure of the Council, or, if no such person is present, such other person as may be determined by the Council, shall act as Chairman.

Article 185: The Chairman or the Deputy Chairman not to preside while a resolution for his removal from office is under consideration.

(1) At any sitting of the Legislative Council, while any resolution for the removal of the Chairman from his office is under consideration, the Chairman, or while any resolution for the removal of the Deputy Chairman from his office is under consideration, the Deputy Chairman, shall not, though he is present, preside, and the provisions of clause (2) of article 184 shall apply in relation to every such sitting as they apply in relation to a sitting from which the Chairman or, as the case may be, the Deputy Chairman is absent.
(2) The Chairman shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of, the Legislative Council while any resolution for his removal from office is under consideration in the Council and shall, notwithstanding anything in article 189, be entitled to vote only in the first instance on such resolution or on any other matter during such proceedings but not in the case of an equality of votes.

Article 186: Salaries and allowances of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

There shall be paid to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and to the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council, such salaries and allowances as may be respectively fixed by the Legislature of the State by law and, until provision in that behalf is so made, such salaries and allowances as are specified in the Second Schedule.

Article 187: Secretariat of State Legislature.

(1) The House or each House of the Legislature of a State shall have a separate secretarial staff:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall, in the case of the Legislature of a State having a Legislative Council, be construed as preventing the creation of posts common to both Houses of such Legislature.
(2) The Legislature of a State may by law regulate the recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons appointed, to the secretarial staff of the House or Houses of the Legislature of the State.
(3) Until provision is made by the Legislature of the State under clause (2), the Governor may, after consultation with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or the Chairman of the Legislative Council, as the case may be, make rules regulating the recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons appointed, to the secretarial staff of the Assembly or the Council, and any rules so made shall have effect subject to the provisions of any law made under the said clause.

Info- Bits related with Officers of the State Legislature

1. The Constitution does not prevent creation common posts to both houses of state legislature.
2. If there is any resolution for the removal of Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the State Legislature, then they cannot preside. But they have the right to speak in. The right to vote changes for Speaker of LA and Chairman of LC from casting vote to first instance vote.
3. In comparison, if there is a resolution for removal of Chairman of Rajya Sabha (ie. Vice President of India), he will not get any right for casting vote or first instance vote.
4. If office of Speaker vacant, then the preference goes to → Deputy Speaker → Member appointed by Governor.
5. If office of Speaker absent, then the preference goes to → Deputy Speaker → Person determined by the rules of procedure of the Assembly → Person determined by the Assembly.