CJI Chandrachud's take on strict dress code for lawyers, pending pleas

Justice Chandrachud, who recently assumed the office of CJI, also called for the need to dispose of transfer petitions pending before the court before the winter vacations.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday weighed in on the “strict dress code” for lawyers, saying that it must be "reconsidered" given the extreme heatwaves witnessed across the country during summers. “Legal profession must shed its colonial underpinnings,” he noted. Chandrachud, however, underlined that the "attire strictness" should not become a reason to morally police women lawyers.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. (PTI)

The CJI was speaking at an event in New Delhi. “Legal profession must shed away its colonial underpinnings. In India where summers include extreme heatwaves because of climate change, we must reconsider the strict dress code for lawyers, especially in summers. The strictness of attire shouldn't lead to moral policing of women lawyers,” he said.

Justice Chandrachud, who recently assumed the office of CJI, also called for the need to dispose of transfer petitions pending in the court before the winter vacation. There are about 3,000 transfer petitions pending with the court, he said. Bail pleas must be expedited too, he added.

“Since we have 13 benches going on right now, our endeavour is to dispose of 130 transfer petitions every day before the winter vacations. The SC wants to ensure that bail matters are listed and disposed of in an expeditious manner,” the CJI said.

On the criticism received by his Collegium, the country's 50th CJI noted that no institution in a democracy is "perfect" and that the court works within the existing framework of the Constitution “as it is interpreted and given to us”.

"The working of the Constitution depends on how the district judiciary is working. When we celebrate the Constitution we must be conscious of the history prior to the adoption of the Constitution," Justice Chandrachud said.

(With ANI inputs)