Verdict in case against ‘My Lord’ title for judges reserved

LAHORE
Justice Muhammad Sajjad Mehmood Sethi of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday reserved the decision on a petition challenging the use of title of "My Lord" for judges of superior courts and bowing in front of them during the court proceedings.
A lawyer AK Dogar moved the petition submitting that the judges were not only addressed as 'My Lord', 'your lordship', but the lawyers also bend their heads before the judges at their rostrum and while entering the courtrooms.
He said, it was un-Islamic to bow before any human being, more so, before a person in authority and let us bow before God Almighty alone and not before any man.
He submitted that he had noticed, number of times that the judge of the high courts and Supreme Court address their colleagues as 'My Lord', Mr Justice so and so. He stated in US, no judge is addressed as 'My Lord' by any lawyer.
He said according to the Article 14 of the Constitution, dignity of man is fundamental right of every citizen.
He said, we think we have gained freedom after 1947 but in fact we have not and we are still slaves of the West. He asserted that there was an element of slavish mentality, which prompted us to follow the line of our erstwhile rulers.
He submitted that according to para 4 of the presidents order which had been printed in PLD 1981 Central statute 231 as' "the use of the expressions 'my lord' and 'your lordship' and the like, in relation to a judge shall be discontinued and he shall only be addressed as 'sir' or 'janab-e-wala' or 'janab-e-aali' or referred to in judgments, correspondence or other instruments as "Mr Justice" so and so or the like." He requested the court to issue direction to the federal and provincial governments, Pakistan Bar Council, Punjab Bar Council, Lahore High Court Bar Association and Lahore Bar Association to implement the president order restraining the lawyers not to use ‘My Lord’ for judges and not to bow in front of them.