SC judge offers half of his salary to lawyer for not using ‘My Lord’, 'Your Lordships'; Suggests THIS instead

livemint.com:

Justice PS Narasimha was quoted by news agency PTI as saying on Wednesday. "Why don't you use 'Sir' instead," Justice Narasimha, who was sitting on the Supreme Court bench with senior presiding judge Justice AS Bopanna, told a senior lawyer. During arguments in court, lawyers invariably address judges as "My Lord" or "Your Lordships".

Those opposed to the practice often call it a colonial-era relic and a sign of slavery, the PTI report said. In 2006, the Bar Council of India had passed a resolution deciding no advocate will address judges as "My Lord" and "Your Lordship". However, it was not followed in practice.

In 2009, Justice K Chandru of the Madras High Court had asked lawyers to refrain from using 'My Lord', Live Law reported on Friday. Former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court had also formally requested lawyers that they may try and avoid addressing him as 'your lordship' or 'my lord', the report said. The reports also mentioned the 2019 Rajasthan High Court notice that requested lawyers and those appearing before the judges to refrain from addressing the judges as "My Lord" and "Your Lordship".

Justice PS Narasimha was one of the five judges who issued a judgment regarding various petitions concerning the marriage equality rights of the LGBTQIA community. In a 3:2 decision, the five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud ruled against granting constitutional validity to same-sex marriages. Justice PS Narasimha was one of the majority three judges and was quoted by Live Law as saying: "It would not be Constitutionally permissible to recognise a right to civil union mirroring marriage".