Court invokes dress code, fines officers

The Patna High Court directs two state government officers to pay Rs 5,000 each as fine for appearing in the court in “abominable” dress, reports Prashant Pratap.

The Patna High Court on Tuesday directed two state government officers to pay Rs 5,000 each as fine for appearing in the court in “abominable” dress.

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Both the Munger-based officers — Additional Collector (Revenue) Ram Naresh Choudhary and Executive Magistrate-cum-Revenue Officer Narendra Kumar Singh — appeared in the High Court in a contempt case wearing a T-shirt and a check shirt, respectively.

Taking strong exception, Justice S.K. Katriar observed that “their dress is abominable and this court records its strong sense of displeasure as it amounts to insensitivity to discipline.”

The court directed the state chief secretary to ensure implementation of the government circular of 1954 regarding the dress code for functionaries required to appear in court. While observing that the circular on dress code must be strictly followed, the court directed the chief secretary to file an affidavit on the steps taken in this regard by September 5.

Justice Katriar was hearing a contempt petition filed by Shree Narayan Singh, who complained non-compliance of the court’s order of September 8, 1998. In its order, the court had directed the authorities concerned to pay compensation to the petitioner for his land acquired by the government under the Bihar land Reforms Act within three months. However, the authorities did not pay the compensation despite the court’s order almost a decade ago and Singh filed a contempt petition in 2001.