Avoid Calling Me ‘My Lord’ or ‘Your Lordship’: Justice S Muralidhar To Lawyers

Justice Muralidhar, who was transferred from the Delhi HC recently took oath as a judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court on March 6.

Chandigarh| Justice S Muralidhar, who joined the Punjab and Haryana High Court earlier this month, has requested lawyers to avoid using terms such as “my lord” or “your lordship” while addressing him.

“It is for the information of respected members of the Bar that Hon’ble Justice S Muralidhar has requested that they may try and avoid addressing him as ‘your lordship’ or ‘my lord’,” according to a note attached to the cause list of cases issued for Monday by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, news agency PTI reported.

A few years ago, the High Court Bar Association in Chandigarh had asked its members to prefer addressing judges as “sir” or “your honour”, though many lawyers continue to use terms such as “your lordship” to address them.

Muralidhar is the second most senior judge in the Punjab and Haryana HC, where he is heading the second division bench. He joined the court in Chandigarh on 6 March.

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Most roads leading to the high court complex were dotted with welcome hoardings. “Delhi’s loss is Punjab’s gain,” read one of them.

The Supreme Court collegium had cleared his transfer on 12 February, but it was embroiled in a controversy as the transfer was notified on the night of 26 February, less than 24 hours after a bench headed by Justice Muralidhar, during a midnight hearing, pulled up the Delhi Police over the communal riots that rocked that national capital that week.

At his farewell, Justice Muralidhar cleared the air over the controversy on his transfer. He said he had replied to Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde’s communication, saying he was fine with the proposal and had no objection to it.