Address me as 'Sir' and not 'My Lord', Calcutta HC Chief Justice Thottathil B. Nair Radhakrishnan

INCIDENT

In a noteworthy move resulting in departure from one of the long-standing colonial traditions that continue to characterise the Indian Judiciary, Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan has said that he would want to be addressed as ‘Sir’ by all judiciary officers in Bengal and Andaman instead of ‘My Lord’ or ‘Lordship’, as was the practice so far.

In a letter to the district judges and chief judges of lower courts in the state and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, High Court Registrar General Rai Chattopadhyay conveyed the message of the Chief Justice.

The Chief Justice has expressed the desire through the letter, saying “henceforth officers of district judiciary, including members of Registry of the Hon’ble High Court would address the Hon’ble Chief Justice as ‘Sir’ instead of ‘My Lord’ or ‘Lordship’, in conformity with the applicable judicial and administrative precedents”.

BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA(BCI) RULES

The current Bar Council of India (BCI) rules also do not mandate the use of “My Lord” and “Your Lordship” when it comes to addressing the members of the Bench. In this regard, Chapter III A of Part VI of the BCI Rules lays down the following when it comes to the manner in which the Court must be addressed:

“Consistent with the obligation of the Bar to show a respectful attitude towards the Court and bearing in mind the dignity of Judicial Office, the form of address to be adopted whether in the Supreme Court, High Courts or Subordinate Courts should be as follows: “Your Honour” or “Hon’ble Court” in Supreme Court & High Courts and in the Subordinate Courts and Tribunals it is open to the Lawyers to address the Court as “Sir” or the equivalent word in respective regional languages.”

“EXPLANATION: As the words “My Lord” and “Your Lordship” are relics of Colonial post, it is proposed to incorporate the above rule showing respectful attitude to the Court.”

JUDICIAL PRECEDENTS

• Earlier, similar request was made by Justice S. Muralidhar, then judge of High Court (presently sits in the Punjab and Haryana High Court), asking all lawyers to avoid using the terms “My Lord” or “My Lordship” while addressing him.
• On July 15,2019the Full Court of the Rajasthan High Court had passed a resolution on similar lines to get rid with the colonial-era practice of referring to judges as "My Lord" or "Your Lordship."

• A similar observation was made by the Supreme Court Bench of Justices HL Dattu and SA Bobde (now the Chief Justice of India) as well back in 2014, pointing out that it was not compulsory to address the Court as “My Lord”, “Your Lordship” or even “Your Honour.”

The bench said:

“When did we say it is compulsory? You can only call us in a dignified manner…. How can this negative prayer be accepted by us? Don’t address us as “lordship”. We don’t say anything. We only say address us respectfully.”

 Madras High Court in 2018 orally observed the following:

“You need not address us as ‘Your Lordships’ either, it is part of the colonial mindset, we also don’t like it. Just address us as ‘the Court'.”

In 2006, the BCI had also passed a resolution prohibiting the use of such terms stating such usage was a relic of the colonial past.