An official circular permits woman judges in Kerala to wear modern dresses in courts

Women judges in Kerala can now wear fashionable costumes to court, such as long skirts, churidar and full-sleeve shirts and trousers, rather than the usual saree and blouse pair. Last Monday, the Kerala High Court granted a request from female justices to enable them to wear contemporary attire in court. On October 9, an official circular will be published allowing judges to wear salwar kameez, churidar, long skirts, shirts and slacks and full-sleeve blouses and sarees as professional attire, therefore changing their more than half-century-old dress code.

However, the ladies will not be able to select the colour of their clothes and will be required to wear black and white in order to seem officially clothed during the court sessions. The previous dress code for Kerala judges, which did not include the saree, required women to wear "regional dress of subdued colour, white stiff or soft collar bands with a Barrister's or Bachelor of Law's gown." In courts, men must wear black open-collar coats, white shirts, and white stiff or soft-collar bands, along with a Barrister's or Bachelor of Law's gown."

The men's dress code, on the other hand, remains unchanged.