Lawyers in Kerala state will no longer have to use the title “My Lord” when addressing judges.
Kerala’s High Court Bar Association (KHCBA) pushed through the motion in mid-June to bring the state’s courts in line with the federal system. Last year, the Bar Council of India agreed to stop using the term at the Supreme Court.
The Communist-dominated KHCBA said the decision was a step away from colonialism.
“We have decided to shed away the colonial tradition… instead we have decided to say ‘your honour’ and ‘this honourable court’,” the secretary of the KHCBA, Santhosh Kumar, was quoted as saying.
R Jayashankar, general secretary of the Indian Association of Lawyers in Kerala, has also promoted abandoning the colonial-style dress code, including the use of black gowns and white shirts with high stay collars.
