Allahabad High Court Clarifies Protocol for Use of ‘Hon’ble’ Title for Constitutional Functionaries

The Allahabad High Court ruled that constitutional functionaries exercising sovereign functions across the three organs of government must be addressed using the honorific ‘Hon’ble’.

The Bench clarified that this entitlement extends to Union and State Ministers, Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Speakers, and Members of Parliament or State Assemblies.

The Court emphasized that even high-ranking civil servants are excluded from this specific honorific.

The ruling arose after Uttar Pradesh Police failed to use the title for former Union Minister Anurag Thakur in an FIR, a lapse the Court termed a breach of protocol.

[Harshit Sharma & Ors. v. State of UP & Ors.]