No-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla: What happens now?

The no-confidence motion against the Speaker is likely to be taken up on March 9, the first day of the second phase of Parliament's Budget Session

The Opposition parties have put in motion the process to remove Om Birla as Lok Sabha Speaker, alleging that he had acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner in the House and prompting him to step aside from chairing the proceedings till the matter is settled.

Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed submitted the notice under Article 94C of the Constitution to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh on behalf of several Opposition parties on February 10.

The Opposition also accused the Speaker of making certain false claims against Congress members when he spoke of some "unexpected action" in the Lok Sabha and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House to reply to the debate in the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.

Opposition leaders said the notice to move the no-confidence motion was signed by 119 MPs, including those of the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Left parties and the RJD. Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP have also extended their support to the notice against the Speaker but their MPs could not sign it. The Trinamool Congress is not a signatory to the notice.

Likely to be taken up on March 9

The no-confidence motion against the Speaker is likely to be taken up on March 9, when the House reassembles after the recess to examine budgetary proposals.

What do rules say and has there been a precedent?

This is how the resolution on the removal of the Speaker is moved, approved, permitted and disposed of, and why no such resolution has ever been successful in the past.

At least two Lok Sabha members have to sign the notice to move a resolution for the Speaker's removal. Any number of members can sign the notice but a minimum of two is mandatory.

The Speaker can be removed from office by a resolution passed by the House through a simple majority. Article 94C of the Constitution has provisions for such a move.

All the members of the House are counted to compute the majority, not just the members present and voting, which is the normal practice.

The notice has to be submitted to the Lok Sabha Secretary General, and not the Deputy Speaker or anyone else.

The document is then examined at the preliminary stage to see whether it contains specific charges. The resolution must not contain defamatory language or content.

Article 96 gives the Speaker the opportunity to defend himself or herself in the House.

The language of the proposed resolution is usually examined by the Deputy Speaker, but since the present Lok Sabha does not have a Deputy Speaker, it may be examined perhaps by the senior-most member of the panel of chairpersons.

The panel helps the Speaker run the House in his or her absence. The resolution can go to the House after 14 days.

The Speaker cannot preside over the House while the resolution for his removal from office is under consideration, according to Article 96.

The chair then places it in the House for consideration. It is actually the House which admits it, or as the rule says, "grants permission".

The chair then asks members in favour of the resolution to stand up.

If 50 members stand up in support of it and if the criteria is fulfilled, the chair announces that the House has granted permission.

Once the House grants permission, the resolution has to be taken up for discussion and disposed of within 10 days.

There are precedents of such resolutions being moved. However, none has been adopted so far. Reason for this being the government having majority in the House.

Three Speakers have faced no-trust motions in the past

Three Lok Sabha Speakers — G V Mavlankar, Hukam Singh and Balram Jakhar — have faced no-confidence motions in the past.

The resolutions against Mavlankar in 1954 and Jakhar in 1987 were defeated but the one against Hukkam Singh in 1966 was not taken up as the motion did not get the support of a minimum of 50 MPs.