Peyush Bansal Denies Lenskart Dress Code Policy: Are Dress Code Policies Legal in India?

The Peyush Bansal Lenskart scandal that has occurred recently has provoked a nationwide discussion on inclusivity and dress code legality in the workplace. The company was accused by many users of religious bias after one of its documents, Lenskart Staff Uniform and Grooming Guide, went viral. The document was purportedly permitting hijabs and limiting bindis and tilaks, which suggests discrimination. These allegations were refuted by Peyush Bansal, founder of Lenskart, who said that the circulating policy was old-fashioned or misunderstood.

This case has cast the Lenskart dress code policy in a negative light and has also posed a bigger question: Is the dress code in India legal?

What was the Controversy?

The scandal started with the appearance of an alleged Lenskart dress code policy on the Internet. It contained instructions like the use of sindoor minimally and the prohibition altogether. Users of social media condemned the company and raised concerns about whether such a dress code was a breach of the cultural and religious rights of an employee.

Reportedly, such backlash became even stronger when users asserted that the document was dated February 2026 (preferably, according to Asianet Newsable). Critics wanted transparency and clarity in the policies of Piyush Lenskart, and others wanted to know whether this was ever a policy worth adopting.

Are Dress Codes Legal in India?

The answer to this is yes, but with conditions. The rules related to corporate dress code in India are not considered illegal, provided they are reasonable, not discriminatory, and oriented towards business requirements.

Professionalism may be upheld by implementing an office dress code or a business casual dress code. But, in the laws of dress code India, the employers are not allowed to set rules that will discriminate against them on the basis of religion, gender and culture. It is here that the controversy on the Lenskart dress code policy comes in.

Employee Rights and Lawful Boundaries

Within employee rights in India in the workplace, employees are safeguarded against any discriminatory actions. In case the employee dress code discriminates against religious iconography, it could be a violation of employee rights against discrimination in India.

Moreover, the laws of workplace harassment in India and the policies of the workplace in India HR policies demand that companies be inclusive and fair. Any discriminatory Lenskart dress code policy has potential legal challenges in case it is proven to be discriminatory.

Legal rights of employees in India also enable people to complain to the internal authorities or address the labour authorities in case they believe that their rights have been infringed.

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The Bigger Picture: Policy vs Perception

Although Peyush Bansal has refuted the charges, the scandal underscores the increasing demand for transparency in the corporate dress code policies in India. The policy of dressing in offices that the companies have should be clear, recent and culturally sensitive.

In the case of a brand such as Lenskart, which has been able to disrupt the eyewear market through affordable pricing and innovation, trust is essential. The recurring attention to the Lenskart dress code policy demonstrates the speed at which workplace policies may influence the opinions of people.

The Peyush Bansal Lenskart scandal is not just a social media controversy, but also an indication of the changing expectations of the workplace in India. Although Lenskart’s dress code policy might or might not have been misrepresented, this incident reaffirms a very important fact, and that is, employee dress code rules should be able to respect diversity and adhere to dress code laws in India.

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