Casuals are passé in the CBI. The agency has issued guidelines directing all its offices across the country to ensure that all the personnel, including women staffers, wear "formal" attire in office.
The agency’s directive disallows women from wearing casual attire like jeans, T-shirts, sports shoes and chappals. Likewise, the men will not be allowed with informal dress or without a shave so as to avoid an unkempt appearance.
Women employees will only be allowed to wear suits, sarees, formal shirts and trousers in office premises.
The latest move comes just over a week after 1985-batch Maharashtra cadre IPS officer Subodh Kumar Jaiswal took charge as the CBI Director on May 26.
Through an order titled “proper office attire” issued by the administration wing, the CBI has noted, “Of late, it has been observed that several officials/staff are not attired properly in office. All employees are henceforth required to adhere to the guidelines regarding office attire.”
For male employees, the agency has prescribed collared shirts, trousers/formal pants and formal shoes. Male employees are also required to come to the office with “proper shaving.”
For women employees, it said, “No jeans, T-shirts, sports shoes, chappals and casual attire are allowed in the office.”
“All the HsoB (Heads of Branches) may please ensure that guidelines are strictly adhered,” reads the order issued on Thursday.
The copy has been marked to the Director of CBI, Additional Directors, Director of Prosecution, all Heads of Branch and all Heads of Zones.
Unlike police forces in the State, the CBI is not a uniformed organization despite being categorized as a Central Police Organisation. The agency is a premier anti-corruption investigation agency at the federal level which also undertakes investigation of special crimes following directive from the Supreme Court and High Court besides reference from the State governments.
Officials said the decision has been taken as a formal dress imparts a sense of discipline and alertness as against informal attire which only leaves the impression of a casual approach to work in an office setting.
This is probably the first such instance in which the agency has issued an express directive for wearing formal attire by the personnel, both men and women.
Associate Professor of Psychology at Gargi College, Delhi University, Dr Poonam Phogat said, “Formal attire at formal places is the universal norm, especially when the employees are physically reporting to office. Though, nowadays, jeans are considered formal at most places, they should not be torn or haggard.”
Women employees will have “opinion” on the dress code, but it’s a universal norm to wear formal clothes and there is no problem with any kind of formal attire. “Here CBI is not talking about women being decently covered but it is about not being casual in appearance. Also, the same goes with men who are required to be clean shaven and turn up well kept for office work,” Dr Phogat added.