Shivraj Patil was Deputy Speaker in the ninth Lok Sabha, In 1991, when the Congress again formed the government, Patil was the natural choice for Speaker and was unanimously elected to the post in the tenth Lok Sabha.

Patil was Speaker from July 10, 1991 till May 22, 1996.

During his Speakership, history was created when the Lok Sabha discussed and subsequently negatived the first ever motion for the impeachment of a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court.

In 1993, Patil gave an important decision under the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution regarding matters arising out of the petitions for disqualification against as many as 29 members.

Patil gave a new thrust to the ongoing computerisation and modernisation efforts of the institutional arrangements of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, particularly the computerisation of the information service to the members of Parliament.

He is largely known for introducing the 'The Outstanding Parliamentarian Award' in 1995.