THE High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh recently observed that the rules dealing with the dress code for women advocates prescribed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) do not say that women lawyers can appear before courts with a face covering, according to Bar and Bench.
The court made the observation after a person who claimed to be the lawyer representing certain litigants appeared with a face cover and turned down the court’s request to remove the cover.
This led the court to seek a report from the Registrar General on whether the relevant rules allow lady advocates to appear with their face covered. After examining the Registrar General’s report, Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi on December 13 observed that the rules prescribed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) do not mention any such right.
Referring to the rules under Section 49(1) (gg) of Chapter IV (Part VI), of the BCI Rules, which gives details of the permitted dress code for lady advocates, the court noted,” It is nowhere stated in the rules that any such attire is permissible for appearing before this Court.” The court, however, did not examine the issue in detail after the person in question chose not to appear before the court further in the case.
