Inclusion of Leprosy

Source: Supreme Court 

Why in News?

The bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi in the case of Federation of Leprosy Organization (FOLO) and Another v. Union of India and Ors. (2025) urged the Union of India and States/Union Territories to take urgent remedial action against discriminatory laws targeting leprosy-affected or cured persons.  

What was the Background of Federation of Leprosy Organization (FOLO) and Another v. Union of India and Ors. (2025) Case? 

• The petition was filed by the Federation of Leprosy Organization (FOLO) in 2010 as a public interest litigation.  
• Initially, leprosy was considered a dreaded, incurable, highly contagious and infectious disease. 
• The Indian Lepers Act, 1898 was enacted to segregate leprosy patients from society, containing draconian provisions such as arrest without warrant, confinement in leprosy asylums, and restrictions on property and voting rights. 
• In 1979, Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) was developed as a complete cure for leprosy at any stage. 
• Post-1981, MDT was extensively used in India to completely cure leprosy. 
• The World Health Organization declared leprosy as fully curable and not contagious, leading to the repeal of the 1898 Act. 
• In 2004, the petitioner wrote to State governments requesting removal of discriminatory provisions against the leprosy-affected or cured persons from their laws, orders, etc., but they continued to exist. 
• The petitioner informed that while 4 Central Acts were amended in 2019, more than 100 Central legislations still contained discriminatory provisions. 
• States were found to have 145 legislations with discriminatory provisions against leprosy-affected persons. 
• In 2019, the Central Government notified the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act 2019 to remove leprosy as a ground for divorce, amending five Acts including the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. 

Court's Observations 

• The bench expressed concern about the embarrassing nature of having leprosy as grounds for divorce, stating "The most serious...we don't want to use the word, but how embarrassing it is...you have created a ground for taking divorce.” 
• The Court advised States that they need not wait for particular Assembly sessions to carry out necessary changes in their laws and noted that some states had filed compliance affidavits regarding constitution of Committees, while others remained non-compliant 
• The Court granted 2 weeks' further time to non-compliant States to comply with the Court's earlier direction and ordered Chief Secretaries of State governments to file status reports on follow-up action taken pursuant to their respective Committees' recommendations.  
• Directed that the Secretary of NHRC shall furnish details to the Court after getting approval from NHRC Chairman, noting that NHRC had independently examined the issue.  
• The Court emphasized the constitutional obligation to eliminate discriminatory provisions against leprosy-affected or cured persons.

What is Leprosy?

About:  

• Leprosy was initially considered a dreaded disease because it was incurable, highly contagious, and infectious. 
• Historically, leprosy was highly stigmatized, and those affected were often socially marginalized. 
• In 1979, Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) was developed as a cure for leprosy at any stage. 
• Following 1981, MDT was extensively used in India to completely cure leprosy. 
• The World Health Organization declared leprosy as fully curable and not at all contagious. 
• With advancements in medical science, leprosy is now treatable, and cases of permanent disability from the disease have significantly declined. 

Leprosy as Ground for Divorce under Hindu Law: 

• Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955(HMA), leprosy was originally recognized as a ground for divorce in Section 13(1)(iv). 
• According to this section, a spouse could file for divorce if their partner suffered from "a virulent and incurable form of leprosy". 
• This provision stemmed from the belief that leprosy, as a chronic and contagious disease, could pose health risks to the unaffected spouse and family. 
• The law aimed to address concerns by allowing the healthy spouse an option for legal separation. 
• Only cases where leprosy was considered "virulent" (highly infectious) and "incurable" qualified as grounds for divorce. 
• Leprosy could be cited in divorce petitions as well as petitions for judicial separation, where spouses live separately without dissolving the marriage. 
• This provision reflected the social stigma and fear associated with leprosy at the time, as the disease was often misunderstood and heavily stigmatized in Indian society. 

Removal of Leprosy as Ground for Divorce: 

• Recognizing the medical changes that made leprosy treatable, the Indian Parliament passed the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act in 2019. 
• This amendment removed leprosy as a valid ground for divorce. 
• The amendment aligned with the principles of equality and non-discrimination. 
• It acknowledged that the previous law reinforced social stigma against individuals with leprosy, despite it being a treatable condition.