Articles 178 and 179 of the Constitution of India: Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Articles 178 and 179 form part of Part VI, Chapter III of the Constitution of India and deal with two principal officers of a State Legislative Assembly: the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. Article 178 provides for their choice by the Assembly, while Article 179 governs vacation of office, resignation and removal.
Article 178 - 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.
Meaning: The Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be chosen from among the members of the State Legislative Assembly. The Constitution also requires the Assembly to choose another member whenever either office becomes vacant.
Article 179 - Vacation, resignation and removal
Article 179 sets out three ways in which a Speaker or Deputy Speaker may cease to hold that office, subject to the special continuation rule applicable to the Speaker after dissolution of the Assembly.
A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of an Assembly:
(a) shall vacate the office if the member ceases to be a member of the Assembly;
(b) may resign by writing under the member's hand, addressed by the Speaker to the Deputy Speaker and by the Deputy Speaker to the Speaker; and
(c) may be removed by a resolution of the Assembly passed by a majority of all the then members of the Assembly.
A removal resolution under clause (c) cannot be moved unless at least fourteen days' notice of the intention to move it has been given.
When the Assembly is dissolved, the Speaker continues in office until immediately before the first meeting of the Assembly after the dissolution.
Key legal requirements under Articles 178 and 179
| Issue | Constitutional rule |
|---|---|
| Choice of presiding officers | The Assembly chooses two of its members as Speaker and Deputy Speaker. |
| Vacancy | The Assembly must choose another member when the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant. |
| Loss of Assembly membership | The office is vacated if the Speaker or Deputy Speaker ceases to be a member of the Assembly. |
| Resignation | The Speaker addresses the resignation to the Deputy Speaker; the Deputy Speaker addresses it to the Speaker. |
| Removal | A resolution must be passed by a majority of all the then members of the Assembly. |
| Notice for removal | At least fourteen days' notice is required before the resolution is moved. |
| Dissolution | The Speaker continues until immediately before the first meeting of the Assembly following dissolution. |
Why the second proviso to Article 179 matters
The second proviso creates continuity in the office of Speaker when a Legislative Assembly is dissolved. Unlike the ordinary rule that links the office to membership of the Assembly, the Constitution expressly keeps the Speaker in office until immediately before the first meeting of the newly constituted Assembly.
Related constitutional provisions
Articles 180 and 181 deal with performance of the Speaker's duties when the office is vacant or the Speaker is absent, and with the position when a resolution for removal of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker is under consideration. The corresponding provisions for the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of a State Legislative Council are contained in Articles 182 to 185.
Official text should be checked against the latest authoritative edition of the Constitution published by the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India.