23Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly

(1) The Legislative Assembly 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.

(2) A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the Legislative 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 Legislative 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 Legislative Assembly is dissolved, the Speaker shall not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the Assembly after the dissolution.

(3) 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 Legislative Assembly as the Governor may appoint for the purpose.

(4) During the absence of the Speaker from any sitting of the Legislative Assembly, the Deputy Speaker or, if he is also absent, such person as may be determined by the rules of procedure of the Legislative Assembly, or, if no such person is present, such other person as may be determined by the Legislative Assembly, shall act as Speaker.

(5) There shall be paid to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly such salaries and allowances as may be respectively fixed by the Legislature of Meghalaya by law and, until provision in that behalf is so made, such salaries and allowances as the Governor may, by order, determine.