The Gauhati High Court has declined to modify an order passed in January 2023 to eject a senior lawyer from the court premises after he turned up in a pair of jeans to argue his case.
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Hearing the case on January 29, Justice Kalyan Rai Surana pulled up Bijan Kumar Mahajan for trying to justify his conduct by citing court rules to seek the modification of the year-old order. The latter said jeans are not explicitly excluded under the Gauhati High Court (Conditions of Practice of Advocates) Rules, 2010, although they are excluded under the Bar Council of India rules.
The order passed on February 2 said Mr. Mahajan’s application was an attempt to open a Pandora’s box, which may create more problems than one can expect.
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“If jeans can be worn in court, then the applicant may next ask why he shall not be permitted to appear in court in “torn” jeans, “faded” jeans, jeans with “printed patches”, which are considered to be fashionable, or why he should not be allowed to appear in black track pant, or black pajamas merely because the
Gauhati High Court Rules has not specifically excluded those,” the order read.
The court refused to go into whether Gauhati High Court Rules would prevail over the Bar Council of India rules on the dress code of advocates.
“This court refrains from conclusively deciding this issue without notice to the proper and necessary parties, like Bar Council of India, Bar Council of Assam, Nagaland, etc., as well to this court,” Justice Surana’s order said.
He dismissed Mr. Mahajan’s application while observing that upholding adherence to the dress code of an advocate within the court campus was within the domain of every presiding judicial officer and high court judge.