HC stays lawyer body’s notice on different dress code for interns, Legal News, ET LegalWorld – Legal Firms


Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed a circular issued by the Shahdara Bar Association prescribing a different dress code for law interns to distinguish them from advocates, and asked the Bar Council of Delhi to meet all bar associations and consensually derive a uniform dress code for interns.

The court said a consistent uniform should be prescribed because if different bar associations prescribe different uniforms, the interns will be inconvenienced.

On November 24, the executive committee of SBA unanimously decided to introduce a new dress code for interns — white shirt, blue coat and trousers — which was with effect from December 1.

The circular stated that on many occasions, interns were found appearing in courts wearing black coats and it became difficult to “differentiate between advocates and interns”.

Justice Prathiba M Singh said considering that a large number of interns visit the high court and district courts, a policy needs to be derived so that interns’ uniform is clearly differentiable from lawyers.

The court asked BCD chairman Murari Tiwari to convene a meeting on December 12 with the Bar Council of India, Delhi High Court Bar Association and other district court bar associations and arrive at a consensus on interns’ uniform — bearing in mind the rules of legal education.

“No coercive action should be taken against any intern for not wearing blue coat and trouser uniform while entering the Karkardooma courts,” the judge said.

The high court sought response of BCD and SBA on a petition filed by Hardik Kapoor, a second year law student.





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