The Leprosy Is No More A Ground For Divorce Under The Personal Laws: The Personal Law (Amendment) Act, 2019, Notified In The Official Gazette of India.
The President of India has given its assent to THE PERSONAL LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2018[1], as on 21st of Feb 2019. After receiving the assent of the President of India the Parliament passed the Act and the Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) published the Act, i.e., THE PERSONAL LAWS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019, in the Official Gazette of India as on 21st Feb 2019.
The said Act has removed the Leprosy as a ground for divorce under the all Personal Laws namely, Divorce Act, 1869, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. Now the Leprosy is no longer a ground for divorce.
In the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the said Act, it was stated that: “Leprosy patients were isolated and segregated from society as the leprosy was not curable and the society was hostile to them. However, as a result of intensive healthcare and availability of modern medicine to cure the disease, the attitude of the society towards them began to change. The discriminatory provisions contained in various statutes against the persons affected with leprosy were made prior to the medical advancements rendering leprosy a curable disease. Presently, leprosy is completely curable and can be treated with multidrug therapy. However, old legislative provisions discriminating the persons affected by leprosy continued in various laws.[2]”
[1] THE PERSONAL LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2018, available at http://164.100.47.4/BillsTexts/LSBillTexts/Asintroduced/148_2018_LS_Eng.pdf.
[2] Ibid.
