BENGALURU: Many times, people sitting cross-legged in court halls are chided and told to sit properly, citing etiquette. This happens more in cases of people sitting opposite the presiding officer or judge, saying it is not proper to do so. But there is no rule or order prohibiting people from sitting cross-legged in a court hall, the Karnataka high court has said in an RTI reply.
Responding to a query from T Narasimha Murthy, a resident of Halasuru in Bengaluru, the joint registrar and public information officer of the HC has recently stated, “No court orders, guidelines, notifications or directions have been issued by the high court of Karnataka restricting citizens from sitting cross-legged during the court proceedings.”
Interestingly, Murthy had submitted an RTI application to the chief secretary’s office in 2019 on the same issue. The reply, then too, said there are no rules in this regard.
RTI applicant Narasimha Murthy told TOI that he has seen such boards in many offices in Vidhana Soudha. In many police stations, he said he had seen instances of people sitting cross-legged were asked to sit properly.
“Many people narrated to me incidents they had encountered about this colonial practice. Hence, I decided to get a clarification from the high court,” Murthy added.
Murthy filed an application on May 27, 2022 seeking information regarding “any court orders, judgment, orders, guidelines, notification or direction from the high court of Karnataka … restricting citizens (from) placing or putting cross-leg while sitting inside the court hall during the proceedings”.
