Who among of the following shall preside over a joint sitting of two houses of Parliament ?

The correct answer is D) Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Under Article 108, the President can summon a joint sitting to break a deadlock over an ordinary bill, and Article 118(4) says the Speaker presides. In the Speaker's absence, the Deputy Speaker presides. The Lok Sabha gets this role because it has the larger membership.

• A) President: He summons the joint sitting but does not preside over it.
• B) Prime Minister: He heads the government and has no presiding role in either House or in a joint sitting.
• C) Chairman of Rajya Sabha: He presides over Rajya Sabha, but Article 108 and Article 118(4) assign the joint sitting to the Lok Sabha Speaker. The Vice-President, who is ex officio Chairman, is the presiding officer of the upper House only.

The core concept is the mechanism for resolving legislative deadlock between the two Houses, which matters for Mains answers on the balance between the two Houses and the Lok Sabha's numerical dominance. Joint sittings have been used for the Dowry Prohibition Bill in 1961 and POTA in 2002. They are not available for money bills or constitutional amendments.

Trap: Candidates pick the Rajya Sabha Chairman because the upper House has its own presiding officer. The joint sitting belongs to the Speaker.