By Arpan Chaturvedi
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Rising temperatures in the Indian capital have proven too much for some courts, testing a law in place since 1961 that requires lawyers to wear heavy black robes and jackets.
At least three High Courts have allowed lawyers to ditch the robes and jackets for the summer, although the Supreme Court is being urged to make this a blanket rule for all lawyers in the country.
Judges at a New Delhi court this week postponed a case until later in the year, complaining about a lack of air conditioning and water supply.
While the Supreme Court of India and most high courts have air conditioning, many lower courts and consumer forums rely on fans and poor ventilation.
New Delhi recorded temperatures of around 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) for the first time this week, forcing authorities to restrict water supplies, close schools and set up heatstroke units in hospitals.
They have also sent paramedics to polling stations for the final day of India’s major general election on Saturday, in case any voters fall ill while queuing in the heat. A 40-year-old worker died Wednesday of heat stroke.
Northwest India has been experiencing high temperatures for several weeks. The India Meteorological Department has forecast two or three times the usual number of heat wave days in the region this month, or days defined by abnormally warm weather.
For Delhi, this means sweltering temperatures that are impacting people across the city, including the justice system.
At a consumer court in the southwestern district of Dwarka, which Reuters visited on Thursday, judges heard cases against insurance companies in a courtroom equipped with two non-functioning air conditioners. Ceiling fans and open windows provided the only respite from the weather.
Three court judges issued a written order this week stating that they had refused to hear a case due to high temperatures in the courtroom. They postponed the case until the cooler month of November.
“There is no air-conditioner or cooler in the courtroom… There is too much heat. There is even no water supply to go to the washroom to relax ourselves… Arguments cannot be heard under these circumstances,” the order reads . said.
In 2021, the then Chief Justice of India said courts were “still operating from dilapidated structures without proper facilities,” which was “severely detrimental” to both litigants and lawyers.
A Delhi-based lawyer, Shailendra Mani Tripathi, has taken the matter to the Supreme Court, asking judges to change the decades-old dress code.
Black coats absorb more heat and endanger health, Tripathi says in his filing, which the judges have yet to hear.
Forcing lawyers to wear them “is neither fair nor reasonable,” he says.
(Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Neil Fullick)
