NHRC Report Identifies 97 Laws Discriminating Against Persons Affected by Leprosy

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) informed the Supreme Court that 97 Central and State laws still contained provisions that discriminate against persons affected by leprosy. The disclosure was made before a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, which has been monitoring a public interest litigation initiated in 2010. In that matter, the Court had directed States to establish committees to identify every statutory provision that places persons affected by or cured of leprosy at a disadvantage and to ensure that such provisions are reviewed and removed in accordance with constitutional standards.

Since the NHRC had undertaken an independent assessment, the Court had previously ordered that the Commission’s findings be placed before it after approval by the NHRC Chairperson.

On 12 November, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for the NHRC and presented the Commission’s compiled report. He submitted that the NHRC had located 97 enactments containing discriminatory clauses.

The report listed several Central university statutes, State university Acts, municipal laws, public health enactments, transport laws and prison rules that continue to carry disqualifications or adverse references relating to leprosy-affected persons. The laws identified include the Visva Bharati Act, 1951, the Andhra Pradesh Universities Act, 1991, the Pondicherry University Act, 1985, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Act, 1966, the Madras University Act, 1923, the Banaras Hindu University Act, 1915, the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964, the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, the Bangalore Metro Railway (Carriage and Ticket) Rules, 2011, the Jammu and Kashmir Motor Vehicles Act, 1998, the Haryana Prevention of Beggary Act, 1971, the J&K Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Act, 2000, the Delhi Prisons Rules, 1988, the Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952, and the Travancore-Cochin Public Health Act, 1955.

The Commission’s report also incorporated an Advisory on Identification, Treatment, Rehabilitation and Elimination of Discrimination concerning persons affected by leprosy. The Advisory stated that leprosy is now treatable and that the condition becomes non-contagious once the first dose of Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) is administered.

Recommendations Issued to State Governments

The Advisory included several operational measures to be adopted by State authorities:

• Establish a helpline to ensure immediate reporting of new leprosy cases as well as acute symptoms such as lepra reaction or new nerve function impairment in existing patients.
• Strengthen healthcare systems in each district by appointing adequate numbers of doctors and paramedical staff trained specifically in treating leprosy and its complications.
• Maintain uninterrupted availability of MDT medicines and other materials used in the management of leprosy.
• Provide free treatment, including surgical correction of deformities caused by the disease.
• Introduce counselling programmes for affected individuals and their families, particularly children, to reduce stigma and manage psychological distress.
• Arrange home delivery of essential goods and medicines to persons severely affected by leprosy.
• Offer home-based work options to affected persons under employment schemes such as MNREGA, especially where disability restricts mobility.
• Implement targeted schemes to reduce begging among leprosy-affected persons, including support through monthly financial assistance.
• Adopt a system of treating new patients within their homes rather than shifting them to colonies for persons affected by leprosy.

Recommendations for Both the Centre and the States

The Advisory included broader measures that must be implemented jointly by Central and State governments:

• Improve civic amenities in leprosy colonies and leprosy homes.
• Launch programmes providing vocational training, job support, unemployment benefits, parental leave, health insurance and funeral assistance for affected persons and their family members.
• Extend the protection available under Section 8 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016—which guarantees safety during risks, conflicts, humanitarian crises and disasters—to all leprosy-affected persons and their families.
• Amend all 97 discriminatory laws, ensuring that the process is completed within a fixed timeline.
• Protect the confidentiality of medical records and other data relating to leprosy-affected persons.
• Ensure that no person suffering from leprosy, or any family member, faces denial of healthcare, education, employment or other rights solely on the basis of the disease.

The case is registered as Federation of Lepy. Organ. (FOLO) and Another v. Union of India and Others, W.P. (C) No. 83/2010, along with connected matters.