MUMBAI, March 28 -- Annoyed by the Cricket Club of India (CCI) enforcing its strict dress code, a guest decided to drop all etiquette along with his shorts. Last week-March 21--Malcolm John Howell, a guest of one of CCI's longstanding members, Rabindra Jaisinghani, was stopped from entering the club's bar, 22 Yards, because he was wearing shorts which violates CCI's dress code of long trousers. When Howell was informed that shorts were not allowed inside the bar, he decided to drop his shorts and walk in regardless, much to the bemusement of other patrons but also to the horror of club authorities. Following a complaint by the club's chief hospitality manager, CCI secretary retd. commodore Atul Kulkarni issued a notice on Friday permanently debarring Howell from entering the club's premises citing "gross misconduct and indecent behaviour". "It was observed that Mr Malcolm John Howell was wearing shorts while entering the 22 Yards Bar on the first floor, which is a direct violation of the established dress code policy for the bar/ restaurant area. The staff on duty informed him of the policy. However, Mr Howell refused to comply, entered the bar and removed his shorts. The bar manager and security thereafter escorted him out," read the statement. Howell, who is visiting Mumbai from London, was a guest of CCI member Rabindra Jaisinghani. The club was later informed that Howell has a medical condition and misunderstood the instructions. However, the CCTV footage, as seen by the disciplinary committee, suggests otherwise. However, the incident has once again opened a debate on whether elite clubs should drop their stringent dress code. In 1988, Willingdon Club had famously turned away artist Maqbool Fida Husain who liked to walk around barefoot, for not wearing shoes as per its dress code. A decade after Husain was stopped at the Willingdon, former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu was stopped from entering the premises of the Calcutta Swimming Club as he was wearing his customary dhoti. Author Shobhaa De, a keen observer of changing social mores, says if Howell should have known that the CCI - like most other clubs - is a private, members' only club. "Clubs can, and do frame their own rules. If someone finds them unacceptable, don't patronise the club." Shorts are barred in most clubs, except around the pool area, or on the various sports courts. It may well be time for clubs to relax their dress code, she concedes, adding, "But till such times, please don't drop your pants, sir!"...