'Is this a cinema hall?' Judge slams IAS officer for not wearing coat, sparks dress code debate

Justice PB Bajanthri of the Patna High Court sternly said that all officers are required to wear a coat and have the collar buttoned while appearing in court. (Representative image)

A judge's treatment of an IAS officer for arriving to court wearing a formal white shirt and trousers has triggered a debate on the appropriate dress code for court appearances.

The bone of contention -- according to the judge -- was the officer opting to not wear a coat and to have kept the collar unbuttoned while appearing for the court hearing.

“You think this is a cinema hall?” Justice PB Bajanthri of the Patna High Court asked a Bihar Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in a video that went viral on social media.

The officer -- Anand Kishor, chairman of the Bihar School Examination Board and principal secretary -- looked confused and cornered in a full courtroom.

जज साहब कुछ अधिक ही सख़्त हो रहे हैं। इतनी देर मुद्दों पर बात कर लेते तो कुछ काम की बात निकलती। pic.twitter.com/fI2y9He8Hj

— Narendra nath mishra (@iamnarendranath) June 11, 2022

“Don’t you know what dress code you have to wear in the court? Did you not go for IAS training in Mussoorie. What is wrong with the IAS officers in the state of Bihar? They don't know how to appear in court?” the judge asked.

"This is the normal dress code in which IAS officers appear in court, your lordship," Kishor responded, adding that there is no official instruction directing officers to be dressed in a blazer or coat before appearing in coat.

Justice Bajanthri, however, sternly said that all officers are required to wear a coat and have the collar buttoned while appearing in court. He added that there is no exception to the rule even during summer.

Read more: No t-shirt, jeans or slippers: Maharashtra issues new dress code for government employees

Meanwhile, lawyers who witnessed the proceedings in the Patna High Court told The Print there was nothing “inappropriate” about Kishor’s attire.

The publication also reached government officials for their views on the matter and according to the report, all the officials said their service rules do not speak of any specific dress code for court hearings. But, during their training, IAS officers do get a handbook which states that bureaucrats should be "decently dressed".
“To insist that a government officer should be in a tie and coat shows a colonial-era mindset,” a Delhi government officer told The Print. “There was nothing inappropriate about the bureaucrat’s attire in the Patna High Court.”

Read more: 'Appalling grammar for a professor': Twitter reacts to notice issued by Patna University