Centre to abrogate Lepers Act

New Delhi: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Union ministries to shortlist archaic laws, the Union health ministry has sent its list to repeal the 1898 Indian Lepers Act, that sought to shun people afflicted with the disease and 1897 Epidemic Diseases Act to the law ministry. The old laws are to be replaced with new laws. Senior officials in the ministry say that while the Lepers Act requires a comprehensive revision, the process to replace the old Epidemics Disease Act with the new Public Health Act is going on. The Lepers Act passed by the then British-India government in the 1898 was meant to control and deal with the people who were suffering from Leprosy. This was preceded by the Leper Act 1895.

Another archaic law The Epidemic Diseases Act which came into force in 1897 was formed with an objective to facilitate prevention of the spread of dangerous diseases. It empowers the Central and state governments to take special measures and prescribe temporary regulations that are to be observed by the public to prevent the outbreak or spread of such diseases.