No dress code prescribed for Aadhaar enrolment, says UIDAI

NEW DELHI: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Friday said it has not prescribed any dress code for Aadhaar number enrolment.

"Some reports have appeared in the media about residents being asked to adhere to a dress code when enrolling for Aadhaar. UIDAI would like to clarify that it has not prescribed any dress code for residents who wish to enrol for an Aadhaar number," a statement said.

It further stated that the only criterion is the face of the resident should be clearly visible while being photographed during the enrolment process.

According to the statement, residents are free to wear any kind of dress that they are comfortable with at the time of enrolment, provided it does not hide any part of the face (from forehead to chin).

In fact, residents who wear a turban, burkha, or any such religious/traditional headgear are not required to remove them when being photographed as part of the Aadhaar enrolment process, it said.

Any deviation from standard enrolment practice, such as prescribing a dress code where there is none, is a violation of the terms of engagement by the enrolment agencies.

UIDAI constantly reviews the functioning of enrolment agencies and levies strict penalties, when such deviations come to light.

Such instances can always be reported to the concerned Registrar or the Regional Offices of UIDAI, it added.