Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Police has been told by its Director-General, Anil Kanth, to stop using the words 'eda' and 'edi' -- that reflect lack of respect -- to members of the public.

The order that was issued on Friday comes within a week of the Kerala High Court asking the top cop to ensure that the police in the state no longer use any demeaning words to address the public.

As per the DGP's order, the Special Branch will monitor the state police's behaviour toward the public and if violations are found, they will be reported to the officials concerned.

The order also states that if any such instance is reported by the media, an enquiry will be launched by the unit head and appropriate action is to be taken.

Last week, the High Court had asked the DGP to issue an order in this regard.

Justice Devan Ramachandran had given the verdict while hearing a petition filed by a Thrissur native. The petitioner had complained that the Cherpu Police had misbehaved with him and his daughter.

Recently, the Mathur grama panchayat in the Palakkad district had decided to prohibit the use of honorifics such as sir and madam.