Question:easy

Who presides over the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament?

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The President only summons the joint sitting. Article 118(4) hands the chair to the head of the larger, directly elected House.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • Speaker of Lok Sabha
  • President
  • Chairman of Rajya Sabha
  • Prime Minister
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Article 108 lets the President call both Houses to sit together when a Bill is stuck between them. Article 118(4) then says who runs that meeting. Keeping these two articles apart is the whole trick of this question.

  1. Speaker of Lok Sabha: Correct. Article 118(4) puts the Speaker in the chair. The order of substitutes runs Speaker, then Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, then Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, then any member chosen by the sitting. The logic is simple: the Lok Sabha has 545 seats against the Rajya Sabha's 245, so the larger and directly elected House takes the chair.
  2. President: The President's role stops at summoning the joint sitting. He never presides. His Article 87 address to both Houses is a separate constitutional event and is not a joint sitting at all.
  3. Chairman of Rajya Sabha: The Vice President chairs the Rajya Sabha, but the Constitution deliberately leaves him out of the joint sitting chain. Even the Deputy Chairman ranks above him for this purpose, which surprises most students.
  4. Prime Minister: He leads the government and sits as an ordinary member in the House. Presiding is not part of his job.

So option (A) is right.

Let's summarize:

  • Article 108: the President summons a joint sitting to break a deadlock on an ordinary Bill.
  • Article 118(4): the Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides.
  • No joint sitting is possible for a Money Bill or a Constitution Amendment Bill.
  • Three joint sittings so far: 1961, 1978 and 2002.

The presiding officer of a joint sitting of Parliament is the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

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