#GownWapsi? Indira Jaising vows to do away with Senior gown after Independence Day

Senior Advocate Indira Jaising appears to be walking the talk, having promised that she will shed her Senior gown after this year’s Independence Day.

Jaising, whose petition challenging the process of senior designations across the country is pending before the Supreme Court, has tweeted that the gesture is a protest against “a symbol of discrimination”.

In a recent interview with Bar & Bench, Jaising criticised the current system, saying,

“There is a need to democratise the profession. Seniors need to be more encouraging of juniors and acknowledge their contribution to their work, as today’s juniors are tomorrow’s Seniors. So, we need to pass on skills to them.”

She also said that she was confident that the Supreme Court would come up with objective criteria for designation as Senior Advocate.

“How will the court justify the absence of objective criteria for evaluating merit? After all, the court has been holding all other institutions to account for acting arbitrarily, the same criteria must apply to their own decisions.”

The final arguments in the matter have commenced and it will next be heard on August 29.