The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to direct advocates not to wear black coats, gowns and neck bands during strikes.
The court said the advocates’ dress code should not be misused, and made it clear that it did not endorse strikes.
A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and B. Pugalendhi passed the direction in a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate B. Ramkumar Adityan of Tiruchendur, who had sought a direction to the State Bar Council to ensure that advocates follow the dress code during court proceedings and did not wear gowns and neck bands during strikes.
In his petition, the advocate said that a dress code was prescribed for advocates under the Bar Council of India Rules. However, some advocates were not following the rules and were attending courts without maintaining proper dress code. He said that this casted a bad impression and diminished the majesty of law..
The dress code is a symbol of dignity, honour, wisdom and justice and these are the values an advocate has to keep up with. Every advocate needs to maintain the grace and dignity of the profession. Any violation of the principles or professional ethics by an advocate is unfortunate and unacceptable.
He pointed out that while the dress code had recommended the use of white, black and grey, advocates — men and women — could be seen wearing bright colours. They even wore floaters, canvas shoes and sneakers. Even footwear was part of the dressing, he said, adding that the dress code was not a status symbol, but one that brought a sense of discipline.
Further, the advocate said that while the prohibition of strikes by lawyers was inbuilt in the Advocates Act, they still took part in strikes and boycotts. Some of them wore the gown and neck bands while participating in strikes. This has to be restrained, he said, seeking a direction to the State Bar Council to ensure that the advocates maintain the prescribed dress code.
