The Allahabad High Court has raised serious questions over the growing practice of using the prefix “Honourable” for bureaucrats and state government officials, directing the Uttar Pradesh government’s revenue department to explain the legal basis for the usage.
A division bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot and Justice Garima Prashad made the observations while hearing a petition filed by Yogesh Sharma. The court asked the principal secretary of the state revenue department to file a personal affidavit clarifying whether any law or official protocol permits bureaucrats to be addressed as “Honourable” in official communications and orders.
The issue came up after the bench noted that the designation “Additional Commissioner, Appeal” was being referred to as “Hon’ble Additional Commissioner, Appeal.” Expressing concern, the court said such usage goes beyond convention and carries deeper institutional implications.
“This is a subtle but certain way to diminish the status of constitutional authorities and courts,” the bench observed. It flagged what it described as a recent trend in which officials across various levels of the state administration are being described as “Honourable” in correspondence and official records.
The judges underlined that the prefix is traditionally reserved for ministers and other sovereign functionaries and does not extend to bureaucrats or state officials. “The same does not hold good for bureaucrats or officials of the state government,” the court said.
Drawing attention to specific instances, the bench noted that in the present case, the divisional commissioner of Kanpur had been referred to as “Honourable” by the collector of Etawah in official communication. The court said such references appear to be routine rather than exceptional.
Seeking clarity, the High Court directed the principal secretary to inform the court whether there exists any established protocol identifying categories of state officials who are entitled to prefixes such as “Honourable” alongside their names or designations.
The matter is expected to be taken up after the state files its response, which could have wider implications for official correspondence and administrative practices across Uttar Pradesh.
