Jeans and t-shirt proper dress code, CJ asks reporter

Hearing a petition on the recent doctors strike in the state, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Manjulla Chellur on Monday afternoon asked whether there was a dress code that reporters covering the Bombay High Court should follow while attending court hearings.

Looking at a reporter present in court to attend the hearing on the petition, she asked, "Is jeans and t-shirt a proper dress code?"

She then asked BMC advocate Suresh Pakale whether any such `culture' was prevalent in 'Bombay', to which Pakale replied that there was not. Earlier during the hearing, the court had observed that that reporters had "a responsible role" to play too. Chellur said that only written orders of the court, and not oral observations, must be reported in a responsible manner.

Justice Chellur is the second woman to be appointed Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court after Justice Sujata Manohar in 1994. She will have a tenure as the court's 41st Chief Justice (CJ) till her retirement on December 4, 2017. She has previously served as CJ of the Kerala High Court, as well as of the Calcutta High Court. Born on December 5, 1955 in Bellary, Justice Chellur completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bellary College before joining Renukacharya Law College, Bengaluru to complete her LLB degree in 1977.