Kawdoor Sadananda Hegde's election as the Speaker of the sixth Lok Sabha was unprecedented in the sense that he was chosen to occupy the office in his very first term as a member of the Lok Sabha.

On July 21, 1977, Hegde was elected to the office of the Speaker following the resignation of Dr Neelam Sanjiva Reddy to contest the presidential election. Hegde was the first non-Congress MP to hold this post.

Hegde was Speaker from July 21, 1977 till January 21, 1980.

Hegde was convinced that the effectiveness of the House could be improved only when members maintained decorum and discipline and observed the rules scrupulously.