A month after taking an exception to the Uttar Pradesh Police not inserting honorifics like ‘Hon’ble’ or ‘Mr’ before the name of BJP MP Anurag Thakur in an FIR, the division bench of Allahabad High Court, in an order, has laid down who gets to be addressed this way.
“Ministers of the Central and State Governments; Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts; the Speaker; the Chairman of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, respectively; and likewise of the State Legislative Assemblies; the Members of Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies are entitled to the use of this honorific,” the division bench of Justices JJ Munir and Tarun Saxena observed while hearing the matter on April 30. The order was uploaded on May 4.
It observed that there could be other functionaries who, as per protocol, are entitled to the usage. “Whosoever is entitled to the use of this honorific has to be addressed likewise.”
The bench further observed, “It is to be noted that the honorific ‘Hon’ble’ is to be appended to the names of constitutional functionaries who exercise sovereign functions of any of the three organs of the Government…” But it said no functionary, however high, who is a civil servant and “not the holder of a sovereign constitutional office, is entitled to use” it.
“Personal disgruntlement or familiarity with a family, who is entitled to an honorific, cannot permit the author of any communication to refer to a sovereign functionary of the Government… without it. This part of the matter stands closed,” observed the court.
During the earlier hearing, the court had directed the Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, to file an affidavit explaining the reason behind police not abiding by the protocol in using honorifics.
The court took note of the affidavit on April 30, which stated that the complaint — typed in Hindi and on the basis of which the FIR was registered — was produced by the complainant, Khajan Singh, and was reproduced in the FIR verbatim.
The affidavit further stated that after the court’s March 31 order, directions were issued to the Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police on April 2 to initiate a preliminary inquiry regarding name and honorifics for the former Union Minister.
Thakur was a minister of sports, youth affairs, and Information and Broadcasting in the second Modi government.
The affidavit also stated that the complainant said he was unaware of the protocol regarding use of honorifics for MPs or former Union Ministers. Anurag Thakur is an Hon’ble Member of Parliament and is entitled to the honorific, it stated.
The court has listed the matter for hearing next on May 11.
The case of a missing honorific
On December 21, Singh had lodged the FIR at the Highway police station in Mathura against one Harshit Sharma and others.
The former Union minister’s name was mentioned in the FIR by Singh when he accused Harshit of collecting Rs 80 lakh from him, his relatives and friends under the pretext of providing them jobs in government departments and the ministry, claiming his close association with Thakur.
When Harshit failed to provide the promised jobs, Singh claimed he went to see Thakur in Delhi and that the MP summoned the accused and reprimanded him for misusing his name.
Singh further stated that Thakur handed Harshit over to police and he was released from custody after he promised to return the money soon, and gave his Toyota Fortuner SUV as a guarantee.
In the FIR, the complainant alleged that Sharma later engaged two local criminals to steal the SUV and they were handed over to the local police. The two, however, were released without any action, he alleged.
Sharma had approached the court seeking relief in the case against him.
While hearing the petition, the division bench had expressed serious concern over mentioning the name of Thakur as a union minister in the FIR, without giving due regard.
The single bench of Justice Vinod Diwakar observed that “field officers, acutely conscious of the transfer-posting economy, calibrate their conduct to satisfy their political superiors” and those “perceived as loyalists are rewarded with preferred postings”. (File Photo) 
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