VINCENT PANIKULANGARA Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is filed seeking the following reliefs:

(2.) Petitioner is a Lawyer by profession. His grievance is with reference to the Rules by which Advocates both men and women in Kerala are forced to wear black coat, black gown and white bands to appear in Courts even during summer. He alleges that it causes severe hardship and inconvenience on account of profusely sweating inside the dress and of making a dignified presentation the next day. According to him, wearing of the said robes is difficult even during rainy season.

(3.) According to the petitioner, rules or dress code for the lawyers was thrust upon without taking into consideration the actual requirements. It is pointed out that black dress is the mourning dress in England which continued to be the uniform of Judges and Lawyers. According to him, though substantial changes have been made in various parts of the world, the rules of High Court of Kerala and the rules framed by the Bar Council still insist for black coat, black gown and white bands. It is further stated that prescription of the dress code without having regard to the climatic condition is arbitrary, violating Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India and also Section 49(1)(gg) of the Advocates Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"). Ext.P1 is the rules framed by the High Court of Kerala under Section 34(1) of the Advocates Act, 1961 which reads as under: