Al Wakeelo
Your Digital Lawyer, Always on Duty
Initializing Secure Chambers
Your Digital Lawyer, Always on Duty
Initializing Secure Chambers
Official Citation: 2012 PLD 536
Court / Jurisdiction: LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE
Parties: Malik ALLAH YAR KHAN vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTANHonorable Justice Nasir Saeed SheikhA. K. Dogar
This judicial decision was delivered by the LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE. The matter involves proceedings between Malik ALLAH YAR KHAN and FEDERATION OF PAKISTANHonorable Justice Nasir Saeed SheikhA. K. Dogar, officially reported as 2012 PLD 536. The court reviewed applicable Pakistani statutes, procedural requirements, and governing case-law authorities. The full text below contains the complete facts, arguments, and legal reasoning rendered by the honorable bench.
P L D 2012 Lahore 536
Before Nasir Saeed Sheikh, J
Malik ALLAH YAR KHAN---Petitioner
versus
FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN and others---Respondents
Writ Petition No.21582 of 2012, decided on 11th September, 2012.
(a) Constitution of Pakistan---
----Arts. 199 & 19---Constitutional petition---Manner of addressing Judges of superior courts---Use of the terms "My Lord" and "Your Lordship"---Religious propriety---Contentions of petitioner were that said terms used for addressing Judges were part of British colonial system; that they were un-Islamic as only God Almighty was the Lord and no man could be the Lord of any man, and that the term "Sir" should be used instead of "My Lord"---Validity---None of the Judges of the Superior courts had ever issued any command, direction or instruction to the members of the legal fraternity to necessarily address them with the terms "My Lord" or "Your Lordship"---Said terms which were a courteous and respectful form of address had their origin in the British judicial system---No source of legal literature pointed towards the fact that British members of the Bar ever addressed the Judges of the superior courts with the term "My Lord" and "Your Lordship" with an attribution of placing the Judges near to the concept of "God Almighty"---English judicial system practised the use of titles "My Lord" or "Your Lordship" in recognition of the known ability, nobility and learning of the office holders of the higher judiciary and Judges were not imagined or thought to be involving the touch of Godly attributes---Form of judicial system inherited by Pakistan after independence had no origin relatable to application of the concept of God Almighty with the office of a Judge---Term "Lord" in its ordinary meanings had reference to the qualities of ability, nobility and learning of the persons who were appointed as Judges of the superior courts---When members of the Bar adopted the ceremonial and historical form of addressing a Judge by using the words "My Lord" or "Your Lordship", the concept of freedom of thought of speech as enunciated in the Constitution fully gave protection to such a practical exercise---Such practice could not be directed to be discontinued by an order passed by the High Court on religious grounds--- Regarding contention of the petitioner of the usage of the word "Sir" instead of "My Lord", the word "Sir" could not be separated from its colonial touch as such a "title or honour" used to be conferred by British rulers of the subcontinent only upon those persons who proved their loyalty to the United Kingdom and the Empire---Ordinary meaning of the terms "Lord" and "Your Lordship" were to be preferred and needed to be kept in mind and there was no scope for attaching to such words of address the religious concepts of communities practising some other religion---Constitutional petition was dismissed in circumstances.
Mozley and Whiteley's Law Dictionary Eighth Edn. P.213; Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law, pp.1118-1119; Concise Law Dictionary by P.G.Osborn 4th Edn. P.208; Survey of Universal Knolwedge Enchclopedia Britannica, Vol. 14, p.308; Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 14, p.389; Modern Legal Usages 2nd Edn. by Bryan A. Garner, p.579; PLD 1974 Journal 73; PLD 1973 Journal 61; Role of Lawyers and Judges PLD 1976 Vol.1 Journal, pp.3 & 4; Surat-Al-Baqarah, S.4 Vs. 30-34; K.J. Aiyers Law Terms and Phrases 4th Edn. p.474; Pakistan Textile Mill-owners' Association, Karachi and 2 others v. Administrator of Karachi and 2 others PLD 1963 SC 137; Secretary, Labour Department, N.-W.F.P. Government, Peshawar and 2 others v. Colony Sarhad Textile Mills and others (1979 PLC 124); Ashiq Hussain and others v. The State (1989 SCMR 392); Miss Sumaeea Zareen v. Selection Committee; Bolan Medical College, Quetta and others (1991 SCMR 2099), Hafiz Abdul Hameed v. Nek Muhammad (1994 SCMR 2255), Messrs State Cement Corporation of Pakistan Ltd. v. Collector of Customs, Karachi and another 1998 PTD 2999 SCC; (2006 SCMR 514); Pakistan through Secretary Finance and others v. Messrs Lucky Cement and another 2007 SCMR 1367 and Messrs Absestos Cement Industries Ltd. v. Lahore Municipal Corporation and others 1994 SCMR 262 ref.
(b) Constitution of Pakistan---
----Art. 199---Constitutional petition---Courtroom etiquette---Customary practice of bowing before a Judge---Religious propriety---Contention of petitioner was that gesture by lawyers of bending their heads before a Judge while entering and leaving the courtroom was against the spirit of fundamental teachings of Islam---Validity---Expressing gesture of respect towards the seat of Justice which Judges occupy in the courts of law had no reference to demonstrating a conduct of worship, which was unequivocally reserved for Allah Almighty---Bending of head before the Judges in the court room was a customary practice for showing respect and it was a silent and decent method adopted since decades to pay respect to the seat of the Justice which a Judge occupied---Constitutional petition was dismissed accordingly.
(c) Constitution of Pakistan---
----Art. 199---Constitutional petition---Courtroom d cor---Placement of seat of a judge at a higher pedestal---Propriety---Contention of petitioner was that placing of seats of the Judges in the superior court at some height was annoying to the members of the Bar---Validity---Placing of the seats of the Judges at a higher pedestal in the courts was only for the symbolic display of the authority of courts, which the courts enjoyed with respect to the persons to whom a direction was intended to be issued---Such placement of the seat reflected the intention of the law givers that when a person performing the functions of the Federation, or Province or Local Authority appeared before the court of law on a complaint lodged by a private person, he must have an impression that he was appearing before an authority superior to that functionary and the order of such authority i.e. the court was to be complied with---Constitutional petition was dismissed accordingly.
(d) Constitution of Pakistan---
----Arts. 199--- Constitutional petition---Maintainability---Constitutional petition seeking to give Provincial Government control over the working of a High Court and its premises---Constitutional institution of the High Court could not be directed to be placed under the supervision of the Federation or the Province, which concept certainly would be contrary to the basic theme of Constitution---Constitutional petition was dismissed accordingly.
(e) Words and phrases---
----"Lord"--- Meaning and explanation.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, New 8th Edn., p.913; Oxford Paper Back Thesaurus (Indian Edn.) p.523; www.freedictionary.com and Advanced Law Lexicon by P.Ramanatha Aiyar's 3rd Edn. Vol.3, p.2801 ref.
(f) Words and phrases---
----"Lordship"---Meaning and explanation.
Black's Law Dictionary; Wharton's Law Lexicon 14th Edn. P.612; Manual of Law Terms and Phrases 4th Edn. By K.J.Aiyer's, p.330 and Law Terms and Phrases by Sardar Muhammad Iqbal Khan Mokal, p.562 ref.
(g) Words and phrases---
----"Sir"---Definition and meaning.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary New 8th Edn. P.1437 ref.
(h) Words and phrases---
----"Sir"---Origin of the word.
http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir ref.
A. K. Dogar for Petitioner.
Date of hearing: 6th September, 2012.
JUDGMENT
NASIR SAEED SHEIKH, J: Expressing a general grievance about the century old conventional and ceremonial manner of address by using the word "My Lord" and "Your Lordship" for the honourable Judges of the High Courts by the learned members of the Bar, Malik Allah Yar Khan who is himself an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, instituted the instant writ petition through Mr. A.K.Dogar, Advocate against the Federation of Pakistan through Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights, Islamabad, Province of Punjab through Secretary Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, Civil Secretariat, Lahore and Lahore High Court Bar Association, Lahore through its Secretary with the following prayer:--
"It is therefore prayed that this learned court be pleased to enforce the fundamental right of Dignity of Man, Art.14 read with Arts.2, 2-A, 9 & 227 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 directing the respondent No.3 to ensure that in the premises of the High Court fundamental rights mentioned herein are not violated, and no one is allowed to address a judge as "My Lord" or "your Lordship".
It is further prayed that the respondent No.4 be directed to act upon its resolution unanimously passed on 6-3-2000.
It appears that the writ petition while being drafted was intended to be instituted against four respondents but the actual respondent No.3 has been deleted by applying white paste and Lahore High Court Bar Association has been reflected as the respondent No.3 in the title of the petition but in the prayer clause due to inadvertence the necessary correction has not been made as there is some reference to a respondent No.4 in the prayer clause whereas no respondent No.4 is impleaded in the Writ Petition; the nomination of the respondent No.4 in the prayer clause for issuance of a direction to act upon the resolution unanimously passed by the respondent No.3 on 6-3-2000 reflects that in the first part of the prayer clause the specification of the respondent No.3 is to be read with reference to the respondent No.2 i.e. the Province of Punjab.
2. During the preliminary arguments the following points have been addressed by the learned counsel for the petitioner:--
(i) That a Presidential Order No.15 of 1980 published in PLD 1981 Central Statute at page 231 promulgated by the then President of Pakistan Mr. Zia ul Haq who took over the realm of the country through imposition of martial law in the year 1977 directed the discontinuation of the use of the expression of "My Lord and "Your Lordship" in relation to the Judges of the Superior Courts of Pakistan. The learned counsel for the petitioner contended that he addressed a letter to the President Lahore High Court Bar Association Lahore on 1-2-2000 calling upon the members of the Lahore High Court Bar Association not to address the learned Judges as "My Lord" or "Your Lordship". These terms, according to the learned counsel, are part of British Colonial System when we were slaves. It was further contended in the said letter that the terms noted above are un-Islamic as the only God Almighty is the Lord and no man can be the Lord of any man.
(ii) That the gesture while entering and leaving the Court Room of bending heads by the lawyers before the learned Judges was also objected to by the learned counsel as it is against the spirit of fundamental teachings of Islam.
(iii) The learned counsel for the petitioner during the arguments also contended that the placing of seats of the honourable Judges in the Superior Court premises at some height was also annoying to the members of the Bar and therefore the Provincial Government/respondent No.2 (incorrectly reflected as respondent No.3) be directed to ensure that in the premises of the High Court fundamental rights mentioned herein are not violated and no one is allowed to address a Judge as "My Lord or Your Lordship" .
3. It was quite convenient for this Court to decide the writ petition on the short grounds by holding that through the instant writ petition the petitioner in fact sought the Province of Punjab to have a control over the working of the Lahore High Court and its premises which direction/prayer being contrary to the fundamental spirit of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan cannot be entertained because as per Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973 the High Court being a Court created by the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been conferred upon the jurisdiction to issue direction to the persons performing their functions in connection with the affairs of the Federation, a Province or Local Authority of the nature mentioned in clauses (a), (b) & (c) of Article 199 and even declaring any act done or proceedings taken within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court by such a person to have been done or taken without lawful authority and of no legal effect. Thus the Constitutional Institution of the High Court cannot be directed to be placed under the supervision of the Federation or the Province which concept certainly would be contrary to the basic theme of Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Similarly the resolution of the Bar Association particularly that of the Lahore High Bar Association cannot be sought to be implemented through any order passed by this Court. Although the learned counsel Mr. A.K.Dogar claims to have addressed a letter dated 1-2-2000 to the President of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Lahore but for the last more than a decade he himself did not take any step toward the implementation of any resolution stated to have been passed on his letter dated 1-2-2000, so much so that he even did not elect to be a petitioner in the instant Writ Petition. However in order to highlight some questions of intellectual, literary, legal and religious importance I opt to decide the matter with some depth.
4. Let me at the very outset point out that none of the honourable Judges of the Superior Courts have ever issued any command, direction or instruction to the learned members of the legal fraternity to necessarily address the honourable Judges of the Superior Courts with the terms "My Lord" or "Your Lordship".
5. The historical background in which this courteous and respectful form of address has been adopted by the learned members of the Bar for the honourable Judges of the Superior Courts has its origin in the British Judicial System. A thorough probe into the wisdom behind the above practice in the British Courts has also been made and with a considerably dominant amount of absolute certainty it is not found through any source of legal literature that even the British Members of the Bar ever ever addressed the honourable Judges of the Superior Courts with the term "My Lord"and "Your Lordship" with an attribution of placing the honourable Judges near to the concept of "God Almighty". The learned counsel for the petitioner did not raise any argument nor produce any material in writing contrary to the above historical fact. Needless to say that the people of the United Kingdom generally and the members of the legal fraternity as well as of judicial hierarchy of Great Britain profess Christianity as their faith and religion.
6. The term "Lord" is a word of English language and it has linguistic as well as religious concepts in its meaning. In the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, New 8th Edition at page 913 different aspects of the word "Lord" as a noun have been highlighted in the following manner:--
Lord: noun 1(in Britain) a man of high rank in the NOBILITY (=people of social class), or who has been given the title 'lord' as an honour. Compare LADY.
2. Lord (in Britain) the title used by a lord: Lord Beaverbrook.
3. Lord a title used for some high official positions in Britain: the Lord Chancellor. The Lord Mayor
4. My Lord (in Britain) a title of respect used when speaking to a judge, BISHOP or some male members of the NOBILITY (=people of high social class) compare LADY
5. a powerful man in MEDIEVAL Europe. who owned a lot of land and property a feudal lord. the lord of the manor. See also OVERLORD, WARLORD
6 (usually the Lord) [sing.] a title used to refer to God or Christ: Love the Lord with all your heart.
7 Our Lord [sing] a title used to refer to Christ
8 the Lords [sing/pl.v.] = HOUSE OF LORDS: The Lords has/have not yet reached a decision. compare COMMONS. see also LAW LORD.
In the Oxford Paper Back Thesaurus (Indian Edition) edited by Maurice Waite the term Lord has been given the following definitions at page 523:--
Lord. noun 1 lords and ladies NOBLE, nobleman, peer, aristocrat, patrician, grandee, seigneur.
2 it is my duty to obey my lord's wishes aMASTER, ruler, leader, chief, superior, monarch, sovereign, king, emperor, prince, governor, commander, suzerain, liege, liege lord.
3 let us pray to our Lord GOD, the Father, the Almighty, Jehovah, the Creator; JESUS CHRIST, the Mesiah, the Saviour, the Son of God, the Redeemer, the Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings.
4 a press lord MAGNATE, tycoon, mogul, captain, baron, king; industrialist, proprietor; informal big shot, honcho; derogatory fat cat.
There is another valuable source nowadays available from the website www.freedictionary.com wherein the following different meanings of the English word "Lord" are noted online:--
Lord. noun. 1. peer, nobleman, count, duke, gentleman, eari, noble, baron, ariscount, childe (archaic). She married a lord and lives in a huge house in the country.
2. ruler, leader, chief, king, prince, master, governor, commander, superior, monarch, sovereign, liege, overlord, potentate, seigneur. it was the home of the powerful lords of Baux.
3. ruler, chief, baron, tycoon, heavyweight (informal), bigwig (informal) big shot (informal), big wheel (slang), big noise (informal), heavy hitter (informal) the lords of the black market..
the Lord or Our Lord Jesus Christ, God, Christ, Messiah, Jehovah, the Almighty, the Galilean, the Good Shephered, the Nazarene Ask the Lord to help you in your times of trouble.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language - complete and unabridged 2nd Edition 2002 @HarperCollins Publishers 1995
Translation
n lordliness
lordship
(withHis, -Youretc) a word used in speaking to, or about, a man with the title 'Lord' and also certain judges who do not have this title Thank you, Your Lordship.
the Lord
God; Christ
lord it over
to act like a lord or master towards Don't think you can lord it over us.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary @2006-2010 K Dictionaries Ltd.
The Black's Law Dictionary in its Eighth Edition at page 963 described the word Lordship in the following meanings:--
Lordship. 1. Dominion.
2. An honorary title and used for a nobleman other than a duke.
3. A customary title for a judge or some other public official.
In the Mozley and Whiteley's Law Dictionary Eighth Edition the term Lord Chief Justice of England has been explained at page-213 in the following meanings:--
LORD CHIEF JUSTICE OF ENGLAND. The presiding judge of the Queen's Bench Division, and, in the absence of the Lord Chancellor, President of the Lord Chancellor, President of the High Court. He is also an ex-officio judge of the Court of Appeal [CHIEF JUSTICE.]
In Wharton's Law Lexicon 14th Edition the term Lordship has been explained in the following meanings at page-612:--
Lordship, dominion, manor, seigniory, domain; also title of honour of a nobleman not being a duke. It is also the customary titular appellation of the judges and some other persons in authority and office.
In the Manual of Law Terms and Phrases 4th Edition by K.J.Aiyer's at page-330 the term Lordship has been explained as follows:--
Lordship. A title of honour not only attributed to the Lords of Parliament and the Peers of the country but also used in addressing persons honourable by office as the Judge. It is a customary titular appellation of the Judges in their office.
In Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law the following explanation has been given for the use of the word my Lord at pages1118-1119:-
High Court Judges are addressed as "My Lord" in court, and out of court are addressed by barristers as "Judge" and by others as "Sir."
In Advanced Law Lexicon by P.Ramanatha Aiyar's 3rd edition Vol-3 the term Lord has been explained in the following manner at page 2801:--
Lord. Feudal superior, Master, owner, husband, God. Selden (Titles of Honour, p.36), speaking of Dominus, says: "it is to be thought of only as a distinguishing attribute of greatness and as our English word lord is, and that without any relation of it to an interest in property, or to servitude, it denotes such superiors as King, or subject of the greater nobility, with us." By the greater nobility is here meant all the peers who are either hereditary, and as such Lords of Parliament, or those who may be Lords of Parliament without being hereditary. Thus the whole body assembled in Parliament is called the "House of Lords." As an honorary title it is bestowed on certain official persons in respect of their office. Thus it is applied to the mayors of cities such as London and York, etc.; Lord Chancellor, Lords of Treasury, or the Judges of the High Court, etc. See Selden "Titles of Honour"' Burke Peerage, etc. ; Dodda, Peerage. (Ency of the Laws of England.).
In the Law Terms and Phrases by Sardar Muhammad Iqbal Khan Mokal the term Lordship has been explained in the following way at page 562:--
Lordship. A title of honour not only attributed to the Lords of Parliament and the Peers of the country but also used in addressing persons honourable by office as the Judge. It is a customary titular appellation of the Judges in their office.
In the Concise Law Dictionary by P.G. Osborn 4th edition at page 208 the term Lord Chief Justice of England has been described in the following manner:--
Lord Chief Justice of England. The president of the Queen's Bench Division; he represents not merely the Chief Justice of the ancient Court of King's Bench, but also the Chief Baron of the Exchequer and the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas (Judicature Act, 1925, S. 35). He is ex officio a member of the Court of Appeal and Court of Criminal Appeal.
In the Survey of Universal Knowledge Encyclopedia Britannica in its Volume-14 at page 308 referring to the use of term "My Lord" the following description was made:--
The form of address, "my lord," is properly used not only to those members of the nobility to whom the title "lord" is applicable and to bishops but also to all judges of the High Court in England and lord provosts.
7. The same historical explanation is recorded at page 389 of Volume-14 Encyclopedia Britannica in the following manner:-
As the proper form of address, "my lord" is used not only to those members of the nobility to whom the title "Lord" is applicable, and to bishops, but also to all judges of the High Court in England, and of the Scottish and Irish Superior Courts, and to lord mayors and lord provosts (see also FORMS OF ADDRESS.)
In the dictionary Modern Legal Usages 2nd edition by Bryan A. Garner the following historical background of the use of term my Lord at page 579 has been given:--
my lord; your lordship. An English judge appointed to the High Court or some even higher court is invariably promoted within society: men are knighted and women are made Dames of the Order of the British Empire. Few become members of the House of Lords, but in court they are all nevertheless addressed by my lord or your lordship, or my lady or your ladyship.
The my and your terms are not used interchangeably: my lord is used as a vocative in addressing a judge directly ("My lord, this case involves. . ."), whereas your lordship appears within a sentence as a polite alternative to you ("May it please your lordship, I am counsel for the plaintiff."). Cf. Honorable (ed par.).
In Scotland, judges of the Court of Session are, by courtesy, called Lord X and addressed in court as my lord or your lordship, even though they are rarely knighted or raised to the peerage. The origin of this practice was that superior-court judges were originally Lords of the King's Privy Council (i.e., "secret council"), from which the Court of Session evolved.
8. The perusal of the above mentioned renowned literary and legal works undoubtedly project that even the English Judicial System practices the use of titles as "My Lord" or "Your Lordship" in recognition of the known ability, nobility and learning of the office holders of the higher judiciary. None of the books of literature or legal background even hinted that the honourable Judges who are addressed with the title of "My Lord" or "Your Lordship" are imagined or thought to be involving the touch of Godly attributes. The dictionaries of English language also certainly project that when the term lord is to be used for the God or Jusus Christ in the linguistic sphere it is to be preceded by stressing article "The".
9. An address by a former renowned Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Mr. Justice Sardar Muhammad Iqbal on the subject of Rule of Law (PLD 1974 Supreme Court Journal 73) highlighting the history of British Legal System is relevant wherein at page 81 he expressed the following views:--
A glance at the constitutional history of England and the United States will reveal that what they have achieved is not the result of an insignificant period of time. For example, Magna Carta was not signed ten years ago, but nine hundred years ago. Therefore,…
Read the unabridged text and precedent citation network on Al Wakeelo Legal Research Platform.