Bill to remove leprosy as ground for divorce
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 10
India has finally moved to de-stigmatise leprosy by removing it from existing statutes as a ground for divorce, separation and annulment of marriage.
In a crucial move, the government on Friday introduced in the Lok Sabha a path-breaking draft legislation to amend existing personal laws that isolate and segregate persons suffering from leprosy. The Personal Laws Amendment Bill, 2018, changes personal laws across communities to ensure equal rights for leprosy-affected persons.
Leprosy as a ground for divorce will be removed from statutes by dropping the relevant provision from the Divorce Act, 1869. An amendment to the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, will ensure that a woman married under Muslim law won’t be able to seek dissolution of marriage on grounds that her husband has been suffering from leprosy for two years prior to her petitioning the court for divorce.
Likewise, the new amendment Bill will drop a provision from the Special Marriage Act, 1954, that allows a husband and a wife to file for divorce on grounds that their spouse is leprosy-affected and another provision from the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, that lists “virulent and incurable form of leprosy” as a ground for divorce.
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, will also be changed by the new Bill that deletes a section allowing a Hindu wife to live separately from her husband if he is “affected by leprosy”.
The draft law is in line with the UN General Assembly’s Resolution, 2010, on the “elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members” that India has signed and ratified. On January 3, 2008, the National Human Rights Commission had recommended amendments to various laws to ensure leprosy-affected persons were not stigmatised.
The Petitions Committee of Rajya Sabha made similar recommendations as did the Law Commission of India in its 256th report. The Supreme Court most recently asked the Centre and states to mainstream those suffering from leprosy.
Fact file
- India contributes 60% of all new leprosy cases globally every year
- Its current leprosy burden is 3.24 cases per million
- The country, which sees 1.3 lakh new leprosy cases annually, is targeting 2020 for leprosy elimination
