Previous Year Question

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Article 118(4) expressly provides that at a joint sitting of the two Houses, the Speaker of the House of the People shall preside.

An important distinction is between summoning and presiding over a joint sitting. A joint sitting is summoned by the President under Article 108, but it is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, not by the President.

In the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha performs the duties of the Presiding Officer at the joint sitting. If the Deputy Speaker is also absent, the applicable parliamentary rules provide for another Presiding Officer. Thus, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is not the normal presiding authority at a joint sitting.

A joint sitting is principally a constitutional mechanism for resolving a legislative deadlock between the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over an ordinary Bill. Such a deadlock may arise if one House rejects a Bill passed by the other, the Houses finally disagree on amendments, or the other House fails to pass the Bill within the constitutionally relevant period.

There is no joint sitting for a Money Bill or a Constitution Amendment Bill. The Rajya Sabha has a limited role in Money Bills, while a Constitution Amendment Bill must separately obtain the prescribed special majority in both Houses.

India has so far used the joint-sitting mechanism on three legislative occasions involving the Dowry Prohibition Bill, Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill and Prevention of Terrorism Bill.

Thus, remember—

Joint Sitting summoned by → President
Joint Sitting presided over by → Speaker of Lok Sabha