India needs to repeal or amend urgently laws which discriminate against persons with leprosy, and stop the official use of the word “leper”, the Law Commission recommended in its 256th report submitted to the Law Ministry on Tuesday.
Since the 1980s, the multi-drug therapy programme to treat leprosy had slowed down the rate of infections. Since 2005, there has been a rise “on account of the shift in public health priorities from leprosy to AIDS and cancer,” the report said.
The commission has prepared a draft Bill to eliminate discrimination against persons affected with leprosy.
The commission recommended the repeal or amendment of all laws carrying discriminatory provisions. The panel recommended an end to the segregation of persons with leprosy, many of whom live in 850 “leprosy colonies” across India.
The Rehabilitation Council of India Act and the Persons with Disabilities Act do not include all categories of persons with leprosy.
Many discriminatory laws against leprosy patients
In 2014, India had the largest number of new leprosy cases globally (58 per cent). From 2005 to 2014, the National Leprosy Eradication Programme has recorded 1.25 lakh to 1.35 lakh new cases every year, a majority of those affected being children, the Law Commission has found.
In its 256th report submitted to the Law Ministry on Tuesday, the commission listed many laws that discriminate against leprosy patients.
Despite the disease, caused by bacteria that spreads through air and can lead to severe deformity, being fully curable now, these laws continue to exist in India. For one, the ‘Lepers’ Act (1898), which provides for the “exclusion, segregation and medical treatment of pauper lepers” and for the establishment of “leper asylums,” remains on the statute books of India, though many States have repealed it.
Under several personal laws of all religions, leprosy for more than two years serves as a legitimate ground for divorce or separation between spouses. Under the State Beggary Acts, persons with leprosy are put under the same category as those with mental ailments, and medical examination, arrest and detention of persons affected by leprosy is allowed.
The Life Insurance Corporation Act charges higher premium rates from persons with leprosy. Several State Municipal and Panchayat Raj Acts bar persons with leprosy from holding or contesting civic posts.
