“Then Monitor Handkerchiefs Too”: CJI as SC Dismisses Petition on Recycling Used Lawyer Bands

The Supreme Court in Sakshi Vijay v. Union of India and Others on Tuesday dismissed a petition asking for a nationwide system to collect, segregate, dispose of and recycle used lawyer bands in all courts. The petitioner, who argued her case in person and identified herself as a lawyer’s wife, said she noticed many discarded advocate bands during the Diwali break. She claimed that these bands are made of non-biodegradable material and therefore add to environmental waste. She urged the Court to introduce a uniform, eco-friendly disposal process.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was not convinced. Responding to the petitioner’s concerns, the CJI remarked that if such a line of reasoning was followed, the Court would then have to start regulating even everyday items like handkerchiefs. “Then the Court should monitor the use of handkerchiefs,” he observed humorously.

Finding no legal basis to take the matter forward, the Bench declined to entertain the plea. “Dismissed,” the CJI said.