All police personnel have to be in uniform while appearing before court: Bombay High Court

Bombay High Court. File Pic

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said all police officers have to appear before courts in their uniform, an instruction that came after a lawyer pointed out the casual dress worn by a woman police personnel.

Advocate Subhash Jha, while arguing a matter before a division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and P D Naik, said police officers who come to court do not follow the court decorum and appear wearing casual civil clothes.

Jha pointed out to a woman police personnel, who had appeared in his matter, as she was wearing a 'salwar-kameez'.

"I want to raise the issue of police officers not following the court decorum and appearing before court in all sorts of clothes, like jeans," he claimed, adding this undermines the authority of the court.

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Justice Gadkari then noted that a public prosecutor is present to look after such things, like the clothes of the officers present.

Additional public prosecutor Sangeeta Shinde then informed the court that the officer whom Jha was referring to was attached to the city police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and wearing uniform was not mandatory for them.

Justice Gadkari then stated that all police officers were expected to wear uniforms while appearing before court. The judge stated that he had in fact fined an officer in the past for not doing so.

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