New Delhi - A lawyer has won the right to appear in an Indian court dressed in the traditional dhoti or sarong instead of the conventionally accepted white trousers, writes Rahul Bedi.
In a 25-page judgment on the controversy following a week-long debate, Justice Rajaram Yadam of the Rajasthan high court in western India allowed lawyer Mr Ved Pal Shastri to argue cases in court wearing dhoti as it was part of the Indian Bar Council's dress code in 1961.
Mr Shastri is not the only lawyer looking for a change in the official legal dress code. Lawyers from the Supreme Court in New Delhi also have a campaign to change the colonial dress code in court which makes it mandatory for them to wear starched white bands along with black coats and flowing gowns 54 years after independence.
"A new dress code is bound to demystify the legal professional for ordinary people," Mr Nandan Sawhney, a leading Delhi lawyer, said. The sombre black coat and gown is not only intimidating but also uncomfortable, he added.
Legal activists said dress code was not the only thing which needed changing in Indian courts as hundreds of antiquated laws dating back to colonial rule, some of which even refer to Queen Victoria, were still in existence.