he Speaker of the House of Commons in England.
The most important function of the Speaker is to preside over the sessions of the Legislative Assembly and also to maintain discipline and order in the assembly. Within the assembly, the Speaker is the master. He has the power to decide whether the Bill is a Money Bill or not. Also, the decision of Speaker cannot be challenged in a court of law. Money Bills are sent to the Legislative Council with the approval of the Speaker. The salary of Speaker is given from the Consolidated Fund of State.
The other functions/ powers of the Speaker are as follows:
- He/she does not participate in the debate of the assembly.
- Only votes when there is a condition of a tiebreak.
- He/She sees whether there is a necessary quorum.
- He has the power to adjourn or suspend the sitting of the Legislative Assembly when there is not a necessary quorum and also to maintain the discipline of House.
- He/She has the power to suspend or to expel the member for his/ her unruly behaviour.
Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council: Article 182,183,184,185
The working of the Legislative Council is quite complex. The process of membership, the appointment of its head and the power of the Legislative Council is also quite difficult to understand. According to Article 182 of the Indian Constitution, the Legislative Council must choose its two members as Chairman and Deputy Chairman. It also mentions that the Legislative Council must choose the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council as soon as their office becomes vacant.
The offices of Chairman and Deputy Chairman becomes vacant very often. However, the reason for their removal/ resignation is mentioned in Article 183 of the constitution. The reasons are as follows:
- Should not hold their post if they are not a member of the Legislative Council.
- By sending the written resignation letter to each other.
- They can be removed by passing a resolution in the Council. However, there should be a majority of members in support of this resolution. An important point to be remembered while passing a resolution that a notice of the intention of resolution should be given before 14 days.
Now imagine a condition when there is a vacancy in seat of Chairman of the Legislative Council. Then, the question which would strike us would be related to the replacement of his/ her place in the Legislative Council or who will look after the working of the Legislative Council. The answer to the second part of the question is given in Article 184 of the Indian Constitution. According to this Article, the Deputy Chairman has the power to perform the duties and to act as Chairman of the Legislative Council. According to Article 184, if there is a vacancy in the office of Chairman then all duties of Chairman would be performed by the Deputy Chairman and in case if the office of Deputy Chairman is also vacant then the duties of Chairman would be performed by the person appointed by the Governor.
Talking about Article 185 of the Indian Constitution, it puts certain restrictions on Chairman or Vice-Chairman when their impeachment resolution is under consideration. It simply tells that a Chairman or Vice-Chairman can not preside the Council when the resolution for their impeachment is under consideration. Here in this condition, Article 184 will be applied. Also, it is given in Article 185 that when such resolution is under consideration then the Chairman has all the right to attend the proceedings of the Legislative Council and he/she will have all the right to speak during such proceedings. Here, the Chairman has the right to vote in the first instance of the proceedings but he/she will not be able to vote in the condition of equality of votes.
Legislative Procedure: Article 196
The main purpose of Legislature is to make laws, pass a bill etc. To understand the working of Legislature or Legislative Procedure let us first discuss the term “Bill”. By Bill, we mean a draft of the legislative proposal. This bill after getting assent from both the Houses of Leg