Bihar babus told to dress sober

PATNA: The Bihar government wants its babus to keep away from all kinds of flashy dresses. In a circular issued on Friday the babus were asked to come to office in formal and sober dresses. There is nothing new about the circular. The government keeps harping on this ‘‘dress code’’ from time to time and it is hardly taken seriously.

‘‘The circular was first issued during the tenure of former chief secretary K A H Subramanian. On Friday, it was reissued,’’ said cabinet secretary Girish Shankar. He said the dress code for officials has been there for quite some time. ‘‘But it has not been properly implemented,’’ he said.

The dress code prescribes dhoti and kurta or sober-coloured trousers and shirts for male babus. For females, it is the traditional sober-coloured sari or salwar-kurta with a dupatta. The exception is made only for ceremonial occasions like Independence Day when officials are expected to turn up in prince coats. The decision to reissue the old circular comes close on the heels of two officials having been fined Rs 5,000 each by the Patna High Court when they appeared before it in casual wear.

Taking a serious view of the officers not adhering to the dress code and wearing gaudy dresses on duty, Justice S K Katariyar imposed the fine on an additional collector of Munger, R N Chaudhary, and executive magistrate N K Singh, who had come to appear in a contempt of court case on August 7.

An enraged court asked the chief secretary to ensure early realisation of the fine. The court also asked the chief secretary to file an affidavit about the dress code for government officials and asked him to ensure that the 1954 Dress Code was strictly followed.