Judges not to be addressed by 'My Lord', 'My Honour', rules Rajasthan High Court

Jaipur: In a departure from the British era tradition adopted by the Indian judiciary, full court of the  Rajasthan High Court on Monday ruled that terms used to address the judges such as 'My Lord', or 'Your Honour are banned from further use.

The decision was taken in a meeting held on Sunday in the presence of Chief Justice Ravindra Bhatt and the notice was issued by the Rajasthan High Court Registrar General today.

Rajasthan High Court issues notice, it states, 'To honour the mandate of equality enshrined in the Constitution of India, the Court has resolved to request the counsels& those who appear before the Court to desist from addressing the judges as 'My Lord & 'Your Lordship'. pic.twitter.com/sg3nOkeWrI — ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2019

The notice said that the move was taken to "honour the mandate of equality enshrined in the Constitution of India".

It will be applicable to all the counsels and those who appear before the court. 

Registrar General Satish Kumar Sharma said that while the counsels are requested to desist from using these terms, all the honourable judges must be referred to with utmost dignity and respect. Terms like 'Sir' can be used to address the judges, he added.

Welcoming the court's decision, the lawyers said that while addressing the judges with respect is a must, terms like 'Your Lordship'  is a relic of the colonial era and a symbol of slavery.

They further said that Rajasthan High Court should be implemented in the rest of the country as well.

Notably, in 2014, a high court bench had observed that using such terms was not compulsory and the judges were only supposed to be addressed in a dignified manner. It was hearing a plea seeking prohibition of such terms for referring to the judges. However, the bench had quashed the plea stating that it cannot direct the lawyers on how to address the judges in court.