Judge to Bar: ‘Sir’ is enough, ‘My Lord’ excessive

BENGALURU: In order to put an end to the colonial practice of addressing courts/judges as ‘My Lord’ or ‘Your Lordship’, Justice P Krishna Bhat of the Karnataka High Court on Friday put a note in the cause list -- the list of cases to be heard on the day displayed on the notice board -- requesting advocates to address the court/judge in a contemporary manner and in the Indian context. 

In the note, Justice Bhat said: “Learned counsels are requested to avoid addressing the court with such excessive honorifics as ‘My Lord’ or ‘Your Lordship’, but are requested to adhere to a practice consistent with dignity and decorum of court which is more appropriate in Indian circumstances, like ‘Sir’.”

When the sitting began at 10.30 am, referring to what had been put up on the cause list as a note, Justice Bhat orally told the advocates what is required is a contemporary manner of addressing the court/judges in the Indian context. Justice Bhat, born on August 8, 1960, was appointed Additional Judge of the High Court and took oath on May 21, 2020. Earlier, he was serving as district judge.