Lawyers to address judges as' Your Honour'

New Delhi, Apr 19 (UNI) Lawyers will now address judges of the Supreme Court and high courts as 'your honour' instead of 'My lord or your Lordships' which was a relic of the colonial past.

The Bar Council of India(BCI), a statutory body responsible for framing rules for legal education and for members of legal fraternity in the country, has finally decided to say good-bye to the practice of addressing judges as 'Your Lordships' vide resolution dated April 6.

BCI has also said that advocates are free to address judges of subordinate courts and tribunals as 'Sir' and by equally respectable word in regional languages.

Chief Justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal has welcomed the BCI resolution. He said" I welcome this decision and I have been advocating for the change for a long time." The Chief Justice was the President and secretary of Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) before his elevation to the bench and is also a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

Eds: Please pick up suitably from earlier series.

UNI AKS/SC RP HT1855