The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a petition seeking a countrywide prohibition on non-biodegradable lawyer bands, remarking that such regulatory demands could extend the Court’s remit to absurd limits.
A Bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran dismissed the plea with the observation: “Where should our remit end then? Monitor how handkerchiefs be used? Or regulate the garbage issue in villages?”
The petition was filed by Sakshi Vijay, who described herself as the wife of an advocate. She argued that lawyers’ bands—mandated attire under the Bar Council of India Rules—are often made of material that is not environmentally friendly, and that their disposal currently lacks any system.
When the matter was taken up for hearing, Vijay told the Court that during Diwali cleaning, she discovered several discarded bands at home which, she said, were made of “non-biodegradable” fabric. She urged the Bench to intervene on the ground that continued use and careless disposal of such items contribute to avoidable environmental waste.
The Court, however, was unmoved, responding, “Can we also start monitoring how a handkerchief is going to be used and reused?”
Her petition pointed to the absence of any uniform mechanism for the dignified, eco-sensitive disposal of worn-out advocate bands. She sought directions to the Bar Council of India and concerned ministries to place dedicated disposal bins in courts and to create a system for collection, segregation, and recycling, suggesting even that shredded bands could be repurposed as fillers for cushions or toys.
The Court nevertheless declined to intervene and dismissed the petition.