Two IAS officers from AGMUT cadre- chief secretaries of Arunachal Pradesh and Goa- got a dressing-down from Supreme Court on Wednesday for not appearing before it in formal clothing. They were summoned by the bench to explain why retired judges and chief justices of high courts were not being given healthcare facilities at par with sitting HC judges.
Both were dressed in trousers and shirts with half jackets over it. The first to be reprimanded was the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Secretary who was sporting a bright yellow jacket over his shirt. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S.K.Kaul and K.M Joseph asked him,” How are you dressed ? There is some decorum in the manner in which one is dressed as the head of bureaucracy in the state while making apperance before the highest court. That must be maintained.”
The judges had hardly recovered when a similarly dressed Goa Chief secretary appeared. The bench said, ” He is in the same boat, naturally as he is also from AGMUT cadre. They will not come to court properly attired. So we will not hear them. You have not come for a picnic.”
Delhi Chief secretary Anshu Prakash, attired in a coat and tie, met the dress code for a top bureaucrat in the apex court. He answered the bench’s questions on medical facilities for retired judges and CJs of the Delhi HC. While taking the court’s leave after the interaction, Prakash said, ” Sir, I am also from AGMUT cadre. Hope with my presentation, the SC will carry a good impression of AGMUT cadre officers “. It evoked no reponse from the bench.
Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh chief secretary Anil Chandra Punetha appeared to be clueless about medical facilities for retired HC judges. CJI said, “As chief secretary, you don’t even know what is the subject matter. We will write in our order that the chief secretary is appearing before us unprepared.”
