Dress formally or face action, HP govt directs staff

SHIMLA: Concerned over the growing fad of casual dressing during the office hours, the Himachal Pradesh Government issued an advisory to all the government employees, asking them to dress formally or face disciplinary action.

Chief secretary VC Pharkha issued this advisory to all the government departments on Friday, asking them to ensure that officials, employees and other staff are properly dressed. These orders follow the high court reprimand to a junior engineer, who appeared in the court in jeans and check shirt.

The department of personnel advised all officers to ensure that the employees are dressed ‘modestly’ during the office hours. “It should be brought to the notice of every employee and should also be scrupulously followed in letter and spirit by all,” reads the advisory.

“An appropriate disciplinary action in the light of conduct rules or terms and conditions of government employee, as the case may be, shall follow against the defaulter,” says the advisory.

The advisory further goes on to say, “Government servant should be attired in appropriate, formal, clean, modest and decent cloths in sober colors, which should not look gaudy.” Casual and party attire should be strictly avoided during any appearance in courts and while attending office, it adds.

FROM THE COURT

It was on July 17 that a division bench made an observation on the importance of sartorial seriousness when a litigant, a junior engineer, appeared in jeans and a colourful shirt.

The judges observed: “The judges and magistrates play a pivotal role in the administration of justice and that is why they wear a specific dress prescribed by the rules framed by the high court. This dress is worn compulsorily in order to maintain dignity and decorum of the court and, therefore, we see no reason why any litigant, more particularly, government officers and officials should be improperly while appearing before the court. Being appropriately dressed induces a seriousness of purpose, which is highly conducive for the dispensation of justice” said the court.

The mannerisms, conduct and dress of a government servant should reflect a sense of decorum, decency, professionalism

OFFICIAL OF DEPT OF PERSONNEL