The Amendment made in Superior Court Order, 1980 (Courts Dress and mode of Address) Substitute the formal code of address from my lordship to sir or Janab-e-wala or Janab-e-Aalia.
The Court made such alteration after a lawyer’s petition contesting the use of pronouns like “my lord” or “your lordship” to address judges of superior courts back in 2020-21.
Malik Allah Yar Khan filed a plea with the Lahore High Court, and Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh heard it. Malik Allah Yar Khan said that calling anyone “my lord” was wrong because only God could be addressed in this way.
Khan drew attention to a presidential directive issued in 1980 that advised against using phrases like “my lord” or “sir” to address judges instead of “sir,” “janab-e-wala,” or “janab-e-aali.”
Following a gathering of Chief Justices of higher courts in June 1979, the presidential decree was issued.
He argued that such practises are hard to break and that no steps had been done to replace phrases like “my lord”. He requested that the court order the relevant authorities to refrain from using such language.
The Amendment was made in Rule no. 04 of the Act which reads as:
