My Lord/Your Lordships sign of slavery, should be banned: Supreme Court told

NEW DELHI: Addressing judges as My Lord or Your Lordships in courts is a relic of colonial era and a sign of slavery, a petition filed in Supreme Court said today and sought a ban on their use in the country.

A PIL was filed today by a 75-year-old lawyer seeking the apex court's direction to strictly prohibit the use of My Lord or Your Lordships in the courts throughout India alleging that "it is against the dignity of the country."

"Using the word My Lord and Your Lordship which is symbol of slavery should be strictly prohibited to be used in the courts throughout India as it is against the dignity of the country," the petitioner Shiv Sagar Tiwari submitted before a bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

The bench, after briefly hearing his plea, said how can it issue such a direction and raised question on whether any court in the country insists on being addressed by these terms.

The petitioner replied his plea in the apex court was allegedly dismissed just because he did not address the court by these terms.

A hearing could not take place further as Justice Gogoi recused himself from hearing the case. The CJI then said that case be listed before another bench.

Tiwari in his petition submitted that Bar Council of India has already passed a resolution in 2006 saying that nobody will address the court in India as My Lord and Your Lordship but it is not being followed.

He said that Justice S Muralidhar of Delhi High Court has acted on the resolution and he insists that no advocate address the court by My Lord and Your Lordship.

"The petitioner submits that the same principle should be adopted by all the judges in the judiciary including the Supreme Court, High Courts and subordinate courts," he said adding "My Lords or Your Lordships is a sign of relics of colonial posts which in other words a symbol of slavery".

"Unless this court issues a writ in the nature of mandamus, the judges in the courts and the advocates appearing in the courts will not follow the amended Bar Council of India Rules which are mandatory now," Tiwari said in the petition.