New Delhi: A petition filed in the Supreme Court seeks an amendment to the dress code for advocates, exempting them from wearing the black robes or coat in the summer months when they appear in the apex court and high courts.
According to LiveLaw, the writ petition was filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, seeking directions to the Bar Council of India to amend its rules which govern robes or dresses that advocates are expected to wear under the Advocates Act, 1961. They make it mandatory for an advocate to wear a black coat with a white shirt and a white neckband. The Bar Council of India’s rules currently exempt advocates from wearing the traditional black robes and coats in courts other than the Supreme Court and high courts during the summer.
The petition seeks a direction to allow the Bar council of each state to amend their rules and “determine the months of prevailing summer for that particular state”, during which black robes and coats can be exempted according to the temperature and humidity variation.
LiveLaw said that Tripathi cited the example of the UK Supreme Court relaxing the dress code for lawyers, highlighting the importance of “changes in a system to address prevailing problems failing which may turn into a burden”.
The petition says that while lawyers travel between district courts, high courts and the Supreme Court, wearing the black robes in the “torrid summer heat” becomes “unbearable”. It says that it is not always possible to take the robes off and carry them along, since “important files and other items” are usually in lawyers’ hands.
Tripathi’s petition argues that not all advocates practising at the Supreme Court and high courts can afford “a mode of conveyance that is air-conditioned” and wearing the black robes in the summer “aggravates the effect of heat”, according to LiveLaw.
The petition even suggests that the uncomfortable attire is leading to “decreased productivity”, as wearing the black robes in hot weather “causes frustration and vexation, which reflects as irritable conduct”.