Call me Sir or Mr Judge,not My Lord: HC Justice

In a first,a judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked that he not be addressed as My Lord

In a first,a judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked that he not be addressed as My Lord.

It is desired by Justice K Kannan that his Lordship should not be addressed as My Lord in any official communication. His lordship be addressed as Sir or Mr Judge or Justice Kannan. This be circulated to all branches for compliance, says a letter issued by the registrar of the court. The letter has been circulated to all branches.

In an address to the high court bar a fortnight ago,Justice Kannan had urged lawyers to give up the colonial practice of addressing judges as My Lord.

Senior judges and lawyers of the high court have appreciated Justice Kannan’s step. The Bar Council of India had decided in April 2006 that lawyers could address the court as Your honour and refer to it as honourable court and,in the case of a subordinate court,use Sir or an equivalent word.

The Bar Council agreed that My Lord and Your Lordship were relics of the colonial past.

In April 2011,the Bar Association of Punjab and Haryana High Court passed a similar resolution; however,a majority of lawyers continued to address judges as My Lord.