High Court of Jammu and Kashmir

The Court made this observation after a person claiming to be the attorney representing some litigants showed up with a covered face and denied the Court’s request to remove the covering.

This led the Court to request a report from the Registrar General on whether the relevant rules allow female lawyers to appear with their faces covered.

After examining the report of the Registrar General, the judge Moksha Khajuria Kazmi on December 13 observed that the rules prescribed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) do not mention any such right.

Referring to the rules in Rule 49 (1) (gg) of Chapter IV (Part VI) of the BCI Rules, which give details of the permissible dress code for female advocates, the Court noted:

“Nowhere in the rules is it stated that such attire is permissible for appearing before this Court.“.

The Court, however, did not consider the matter in detail after the person in question chose not to appear before the Court to pursue the matter.