The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking a ban on non-biodegradable lawyer bands, with Chief Justice of India Bhushan R. Gavai observing that such micro-level regulation fell far outside the responsibilities of a constitutional court. If the judiciary began entertaining such pleas, the CJI remarked, it might soon be called upon to monitor even the use of “handkerchiefs”.
The petition was filed by Sakshi Vijay, who described herself as the wife of a lawyer. She told the court that during Diwali cleaning she discovered a pile of discarded lawyer bands at home — all allegedly made from non-biodegradable materials. Concerned by the environmental implications, she urged the court to mandate eco-friendly mechanisms for the collection, segregation and recycling of used bands. She had also made the Union law ministry and the Bar Council of India parties to her plea.
However, the bench — also comprising Justice K. Vinod Chandran — was not persuaded. “Tomorrow, can we also start monitoring how a handkerchief is going to be used and reused? How far can a constitutional court go in monitoring all this?” the court asked, noting that issues such as rural and urban waste management systems were also well beyond its remit.
Finding no ground for judicial intervention — or what the bench jokingly framed as “wardrobe policing” — the court dismissed the petition with a succinct: “Dismissed.” The lawyer bands, for now, live to flutter another day.