Justice Muralidhar urges lawyers not to address him ‘my lord’
CHANDIGARH : Justice S Muralidhar, who was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently, has requested lawyers to avoid using terms such as “my lord” or “your lordship” while addressing him.
“It is for the information of respected members of the Bar that Hon’ble Justice S Muralidhar has requested that they may try and avoid addressing him as ‘your lordship’ or ‘my lord’,” according to a note attached to the cause list of cases issued for Monday by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Notably, in 2011, the High Court Bar Association here had asked its members to prefer addressing judges as “sir” or “your honour”, though many lawyers continue to use terms such as “your lordship” to address them.
Reacting to the development, senior advocate Anupam Gupta said, “It is a sign of his intellectual humility as a judge. Since eighties there have been efforts (here) to discontinue it but somehow it continues to be used.”
Another senior advocate and former president of Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, Atul Lakhanpal, said that other judges should follow the suit. “It is a welcome step. Others should follow. ‘Sir’ and ‘Your Honour’ is equally respectful and judges should not mind if addressed so,” he added.
In 2006, the Bar Council of India (BCI) too had adopted a resolution to do away with such ‘relics’. However, most lawyers continue with what is called ‘relics of the colonial past’. It was in 2009 that Justice Muralidhar had request lawyers in Delhi High Court not to address him as “your lordship”. Justice Muralidhar (58) took oath as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 6.
He was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on February 26.