DELHI HC STAYS CIRCULAR BY BAR ASSOCIATION ON DRESS CODE FOR LAW INTERNS

The Delhi high court on Thursday stayed a circular released by the Shahdara Bar Association (SBA) which had fixed a dress code for law interns, and asked the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD), Bar Council of India (BCI) and other bar associations to conduct a meeting to suggest a uniform dress code for the interns.

On November 24, the SBA had passed a resolution restricting interns from wearing black coats in Delhi’s Karkardooma court and asking them to follow a dress code prescribed by the association -- a white shirt, black trousers and a blue coat -- from December 1 to distinguish them from lawyers.

Challenging the circular, a second-year law student moved the high court, with his counsel stating that the instant circular is in violation of BCI and BCD rules. The plea said the dress code would cause unnecessary financial burden on interns, who are working without any stipend or only with a meagre stipend.

During the hearing, justice Prathiba M Singh said a uniform policy should be arrived at by all concerned stakeholders so that the interns can wear a uniform which is fairly distinguishable from those worn by lawyers. Fixing a meeting of bar associations for December 12, the court said a “consistent uniform should be prescribed for the interns in as much as that if separate bar associations start prescribing uniforms, the interns would be clearly inconvenienced”.

The matter will next be heard on February 23.