Justice S Muralidhar, who was recently transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Punjab and Haryana High Court has requested the lawyers to avoid addressing him using terms such as ‘my lord’ or ‘your lordship’.
“It is for the information of respected members of the bar that Hon’ble Dr. S Muralidhar has requested that they may try and avoid addressing him as ‘Your Lordship’ or ‘My Lord’. All concerned the note please,” said a single-sentence note attached to his Division Bench’s cause list for Monday.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has earlier asked its members to prefer addressing the judges as ‘sir’ or ‘your honor’, however, many lawyers continue to address them as ‘your lordship’.
Justice S Muralidhar assumed the post as the Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court on 6 March, after his transfer order was issued on 26 February.
The Supreme Court collegium recommended his transfer on 12 February, however, it led to a huge controversy as the transfer was notified on the night of 26 February, less than 24 hours after a bench headed by Justice Muralidhar, had pulled up the Delhi Police over the communal riots that rocked that national capital over the Citizenship Amendment Act.
However, during his farewell in Delhi High Court, Justice Muralidhar cleared the controversy on his transfer from the Delhi High Court to Punjab and Haryana High Court, stating that he was fine with the proposal and had no objection to it.
On 14 March, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), in an open letter to the President of India-Ram Nath Kovind has urged to take corrective action on the ‘hasty decision’ to transfer Justice S Muralidhar from Delhi High Court to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while citing it as a challenge to the independence of the Indian Judiciary.
