What Happened
- The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved an amendment to the state's anti-beggary law to remove provisions that specifically and pejoratively referenced persons affected by leprosy, in compliance with a Supreme Court direction.
- The Supreme Court had directed all states to identify and eliminate discriminatory references to leprosy-affected persons across laws, rules, and regulations — recognising that such references perpetuate stigma and violate constitutional protections.
- While four central Acts were amended in 2019 to remove leprosy-related discrimination, over 100 state laws across India still retain discriminatory provisions; UP's amendment is part of a broader compliance exercise.
- The move reflects judicial recognition that anti-beggary laws, which often equate leprosy-affected persons with beggars, violate Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
- The amendment does not decriminalise begging entirely but removes the discriminatory singling-out of leprosy-affected individuals as a targeted sub-category of persons subject to penal action.
Static Topic Bridges
Anti-Beggary Laws in India — Constitutional Validity and Challenges
Anti-beggary laws in India criminalise the act of begging, typically subjecting persons found begging to detention in rehabilitation homes. Approximately 20 states have anti-beggary legislation modelled largely on the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959. These laws have faced sustained constitutional challenge on grounds of violating Articles 14 (equality), 19(1)(a) (free speech), and 21 (right to life and dignity).
- Harsh Mander v. Union of India (2018): Delhi High Court (Justices Gita Mittal and Hari Shankar) struck down several provisions of the Delhi anti-begging law as unconstitutional, holding that criminalising begging without addressing its root causes (poverty) violates Article 21
- The court observed that begging is "not a conscious choice" but a consequence of structural poverty — and penalising it violates the right to life with dignity
- Anti-beggary laws typically define "beggar" broadly, often encompassing persons with visible disabilities, including leprosy-affected persons — making the definitional overlap discriminatory
- The Model Beggary Bill proposed by the Centre aims to shift from punitive to rehabilitative approaches — providing for welfare-based detention rather than criminal punishment
- UP's anti-beggary law (the UP Prevention of Beggary Act, 1975) contained explicit references to leprosy-affected persons as a sub-category, which the amendment will now remove
Connection to this news: The UP amendment is a direct response to this judicial trajectory — courts have consistently found that singling out persons with specific health conditions (especially stigmatised ones like leprosy) for penal action under anti-beggary laws is constitutionally untenable.
Leprosy — Disease, Discrimination, and Legal Framework
Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. India achieved the WHO's elimination target in 2005 (fewer than 1 case per 10,000 population nationally), though some districts continue to report higher prevalence. Despite medical elimination milestones, social and legal discrimination against persons affected by leprosy — including cured individuals — persists across India.
- Central Acts amended in 2019 (Personal Laws Amendment Act, 2019): Five central laws amended to remove leprosy as grounds for divorce, disqualification, or adverse treatment — including the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956, Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939, Divorce Act 1869, and the Special Marriage Act 1954
- Laws still retaining discriminatory provisions: At least 145 state laws across India still contain leprosy-related discrimination (as documented by the Law Commission of India in Report No. 256, 2015)
- Law Commission Report 256 (2015): Specifically recommended eliminating all discriminatory provisions against persons affected by leprosy; the UP amendment implements this recommendation at the state level
- The Supreme Court direction (May 2024) requiring all states to form committees to identify and repeal such provisions was a landmark enforcement mechanism
- Leprosy is fully curable with Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT); a person who has completed MDT is not infectious
Connection to this news: The Supreme Court's direction and UP's compliance demonstrate how judicial activism can drive legislative reform on entrenched discrimination — a classic Mains GS2 governance-justice interface.
Article 14 and Article 21 — Constitutional Foundations of Anti-Discrimination
The constitutional challenge to anti-beggary provisions targeting leprosy-affected persons rests on two foundational articles.
- Article 14: Guarantees equality before law and equal protection of laws. The classification of leprosy-affected persons as a distinct sub-category within anti-beggary law fails the test of reasonable classification — there is no rational nexus between having leprosy (a curable disease) and the legislative object of preventing begging
- Article 21: Guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. The Supreme Court has expansively interpreted Article 21 to include the right to live with dignity (Francis Coralie Mullin v. UT of Delhi, 1981), the right to health (Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity v. State of WB, 1996), and freedom from discrimination based on disability or disease condition
- Article 17: Abolishes untouchability. Courts have analogised the social stigma and forced exclusion faced by leprosy-affected persons to the untouchability context
- The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (now replaced by RPwD Act, 2016) also covers persons with leprosy — the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD) explicitly includes leprosy-cured persons as persons with disabilities under Section 2
Connection to this news: UP's amendment operationalises Articles 14 and 21 at the state legislative level, removing a provision that could not withstand constitutional scrutiny — and implementing what courts have consistently held: classification based on disease condition alone is not a valid basis for penal targeting.
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act)
The RPwD Act, 2016 replaced the 1995 Disabilities Act and expanded the definition of disability from 7 to 21 categories, explicitly including leprosy-cured persons.
- Enacted: December 2016; implements the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which India ratified in 2007
- Section 2(s): Defines "person with disability" to include "leprosy cured person" — a cured individual who has lost sensation in limbs or has visible deformities as a result of the disease
- Section 3: Prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in all spheres including employment, education, social security
- Section 89-92: Penal provisions for violating rights — up to 2 years imprisonment and/or ₹5 lakh fine for violations, with enhanced punishment for repeat offences
- Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities: Quasi-judicial authority under the Act to address complaints of discrimination
Connection to this news: The existence of RPwD 2016 — which explicitly protects leprosy-cured persons — made the UP anti-beggary law's singling out of leprosy-affected persons even more clearly in violation of the legislative policy framework, strengthening the Supreme Court's direction to states.
Key Facts & Data
- UP anti-beggary law: UP Prevention of Beggary Act, 1975 (now being amended)
- Central Acts amended in 2019 to remove leprosy discrimination: 5 (Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, Divorce Act, Special Marriage Act)
- State laws still retaining discriminatory provisions: at least 145 (as of Law Commission Report 256, 2015)
- India achieved WHO leprosy elimination target: 2005 (below 1 case per 10,000 population)
- Causative organism: Mycobacterium leprae; treatment: Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) — fully curative
- RPwD Act 2016: expanded disability categories from 7 to 21; includes leprosy-cured persons under Section 2(s)
- UNCRPD ratified by India: 2007
- Harsh Mander v. Union of India (2018): Delhi HC struck down anti-beggary provisions as violating Article 21
- Law Commission Report 256 (2015): Recommended eliminating all leprosy-based discrimination from law