In a surprising turn of events, Supreme Court Judge, Justice P S Narasimha, made a unique proposition to lawyers. He has expressed his displeasure with being addressed as ‘My Lord’ or ‘Your Lordships’ during legal proceedings and offered to give half of his salary to any senior advocate if he refrains from using these terms. Instead, he suggests that lawyers can use ‘Sir’ and has stated that he will keep a count of how many times the senior counsel says ‘My Lords’.
This practice of addressing judges as ‘My Lord’ or ‘Your Lordship’ is seen by some as a remnant of the colonial era and a symbol of slavery. The Bar Council of India had passed a resolution in 2006 to end this practice, but it was not implemented. CJI H.L. Dattu, in 2014 had stated that addressing judges as ‘Your Lordship’ was not required, while hearing a PIL filed by counsel Shiv Sagar Tiwari, who challenged the practice as a symbol of ‘slavery’.
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In a similar, the Kerala High Court has observed that a petitioner woman had a constitutional right to argue her case before the court. She was not required to plead with tears and folded hands, as judges are not Gods. Justice Kunhikrishnan stated that even though a court of law is known as a temple of justice, there are no Gods on the bench requiring any obeisance from lawyers or litigants apart from maintenance of decorum.
While some argue that this practice is a matter of tradition and respect, others contend that it is a sign of subservience and inferiority. The question remains whether changing the mode of address will have any impact on the quality and independence of the judiciary, or whether it is merely a cosmetic change that does not address the deeper problems of the legal system.
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