Actually this mindset would be the reason why the profession would be down in dumps. Cant comment on particular professor but if you dress up everywhere, you can't treat college differently. If you're so much fussed about your choices, would love to see you in shorts in your interviews, when there's no employment rules. Or why stop at job, why not defy court and then make all your points.

Whatever you said about corporate world, the fact remains that when the student is in that world, they would never dress like that. Why should an academic not believe that it is the standard required in his world too? He's taking the trouble to dress properly. As for this shifting the goalpost to academic performance or merit, one can have that and take the trouble of dressing if not formally, then at least the same that they would elsewhere when they are off doing anything serious. Do the students wear shorts while mooting or ADR competitions? Is that the corporate world?

You know what? This is why India's law schools will have a lifelong problem of being down in the dumps. Having teachers like you who have nothing better to do in life than to impose outdated notions like this. Focussing on stupid issues like this instead of getting students to actually do the reading and think about the serious stuff.

In a classroom, the teacher is allowed to make that decision. Just like in an office, the employer does make that decision to a considerable extent. What you wear outside the class is indeed your choice. When you make the choice to put in the effort while interning or working, but refuse to do so while going to the classroom, you are making clear where your priorities lie. If you face the consequences of that, then don't go crying a river.

No. At the end of the day, the content of your ideas and knowledge is what matters, when you go to the bottom line. Formal dress or whatever will, at best, be impressive packaging. In the corporate world, where so many things are based on first impression, it is important to get the packaging right. At the same time, even in that world, whether or not you can get the job done is what is far more important. You might have a slick personal presentation style which makes you good to put in front of clients, but if you don't have the knowledge, skills or ideas to cope with the demands of a client's problem(s), the quality of your speaking style and your dress sense will matter little. I think most clients would rather pay £800 an hour or whatever they do tend to pay for the services of commercial lawyers to someone who may have forgotten to shave when they came into work on a particular day and has blue stubble all over his chin but has something substantive and smart to say, than to someone whose face looks completely smooth but whose ideas are of little use to anybody.

However in the world of academia, where first impressions are less important, which requires careful thought, sustained reflection, constant revision of ideas, this is not the case. I don't see a student whose written and verbal answers to a professor are unremarkable, but who takes the effort to dress well, getting a recommendation letter or better marks over a student who may dress less formally but whose intellect is up there.

"if I don't want you to do something, I should be allowed that choice"

??

How is it YOUR 'choice' to govern someone else?

Choice = what you want to wear

When you want to govern what others wear, it's a direction, dictat, order. Not choice. lol.

It's already happened recently, and yes it involved Prof. Nagaraj again - https://m.thewire.in/article/rights/law-university-students-show-up-in-shorts-after-v-c-says-women-shouldnt-wear-them

There are some law schools with such rules, including a few NLUs. There was also an infamous incident at NLSIU some years ago, reported in the media, where Prof V Nagaraj slut-shamed a girl for wearing shorts and the whole student body protested.

https://theprint.in/feature/st-stephens-shorts-ban-dress-code/3000899/