Avoid Addressing Us As 'My Lord', 'Your Lordship', 'Your Honour', Etc: Orissa HC Chief Justice Led Bench Urges Advocates
Orissa High Court's Chief Justice-led bench has urged all the counsels and parties-in-person to avoid addressing it as 'My Lord', 'Your Lordship', 'Your Honour' or with the prefix 'Hon'ble'.The Bench led by Chief Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar has further requested the advocates that any other form of address, consistent with the decorum of the court, including 'Sir', should suffice. A note to...
Orissa High Court's Chief Justice-led bench has urged all the counsels and parties-in-person to avoid addressing it as 'My Lord', 'Your Lordship', 'Your Honour' or with the prefix 'Hon'ble'.
The Bench led by Chief Justice Dr. S. Muralidhar has further requested the advocates that any other form of address, consistent with the decorum of the court, including 'Sir', should suffice.
A note to this effect has been included in the weekly cause list of the High Court. Importantly, Justice R. K. Pattanaik is also a part of this bench.
It may be noted that in March 2020, Justice S Muralidhar (as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court) had formally requested the lawyers that they may try and avoid addressing him as 'your lordship' or 'my lord',".
Similarly, Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had, in March 2021, made a similar appeal to the members of the bar to avoid addressing him as 'Your Lordship' Or 'My Lord'.
Also, Justice P Krishna Bhat of the Karnataka High Court last year put up a note requesting advocates to avoid addressing court with honorifics as 'My Lord' or 'Your Lordship'.
Significantly, a Supreme Court bench headed by the then Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde had taken an objection to a law student last year, who was appearing as a party-in-person, when he addressed the judges 'Your Honour'.
"When you call us Your Honour, you either have the Supreme Court of United States or the Magistrate in mind. We are neither", CJI SA Bobde told the petitioner.
It may be noted that in the year 2020, the then Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Thottathil B. Nair Radhakrishnan had addressed a letter to the officers of district judiciary including members of Registry, expressing his desire to be addressed as "Sir" instead of "My Lord" or "Lordship".
In 2020, the Rajasthan High Court had issued a notice requesting lawyers and those appearing before the judges to desist from addressing the Hon'ble Judges as "My Lord" and "Your Lordship".