Justice for Persons Affected by Leprosy: Ensure Minimum 40% Disability Certification
The Issue
Justice for Persons Affected by Leprosy: Ensure Minimum 40% Disability Certification for Grade-1 Disability
Dear Friends,
We sincerely thank all the supporters who signed our previous online petition. Your support helped amplify the voices of millions of persons affected by leprosy and contributed to global recognition of leprosy-related disabilities by international bodies, including the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
Today, we seek your support once again in a new fight for social justice.
India's Constitution is founded on the principles of equality, dignity, and social justice. Our society recognizes the need to support communities that have historically faced discrimination based on caste, gender, ethnicity, and disability. Yet one of the most stigmatized and neglected communities continues to struggle for justice—persons affected by leprosy.
Leprosy is an easily curable disease. Effective treatment has been available for decades, and there have been virtually no deaths directly attributable to leprosy in modern times. However, the stigma attached to the disease continues to inflict immense social suffering.
For generations, persons affected by leprosy were subjected to cruel and inhumane discrimination. Under archaic laws such as the Lepers Act of 1898, they were isolated from society, separated from their families, denied voting rights, restricted from travel, prevented from contesting elections, and deprived of fundamental human dignity. Many were forced to live in segregated colonies, effectively experiencing a form of "civil death."
In 1995, India took an important step forward by recognizing leprosy-related disability under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. This recognition was further continued under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The law recognizes various levels of disability, including:
• Legal recognition of leprosy as a disability:
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PWD Act, 1995) first recognised leprosy as a disability. Under Section 2(i)(iii) of the Act, “disability” explicitly includes “leprosy-cured.”
Further, Section 2(n) defines a “leprosy cured person” as any person who has been cured of leprosy but is suffering from:
(i) Loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifest deformity;
(ii) Manifest deformity and paresis, but having sufficient mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic activity;
(iii) Extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which prevents him from undertaking any gainful occupation.
Section 2(t) defines a “person with disability” as a person suffering from not less than forty per cent (40%) of any disability as certified by a medical authority.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act, 2016) continues this recognition and includes 21 categories of di
Despite these legal provisions, thousands of persons with Grade-1 disability due to leprosy are still denied disability certificates or are assessed below the threshold required to access benefits and protections.
This is a grave injustice.
Loss of sensation in hands and feet can lead to lifelong social discrimination. Yet many affected individuals are denied recognition of their disability and the support they deserve.
Therefore, we are preparing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a minimum 40% disability certification for persons affected by leprosy who have Grade-1 disability, ensuring that they can access the rights, benefits, and protections guaranteed under Indian law.
Even today, many people cured of leprosy continue to hide their condition out of fear of social ostracism. News reports and lived experiences demonstrate that stigma and discrimination remain widespread despite medical advances.
More than a thousand years of stigma cannot be erased without collective action.
Your signature can help bring justice, dignity, and equal rights to over two million persons affected by leprosy. Together, let us become the voice of the voiceless and ensure that no individual is denied equality because of a disease that is curable.
Please sign this petition and share it widely.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Thank you for your support.
66
The Issue
Justice for Persons Affected by Leprosy: Ensure Minimum 40% Disability Certification for Grade-1 Disability
Dear Friends,
We sincerely thank all the supporters who signed our previous online petition. Your support helped amplify the voices of millions of persons affected by leprosy and contributed to global recognition of leprosy-related disabilities by international bodies, including the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
Today, we seek your support once again in a new fight for social justice.
India's Constitution is founded on the principles of equality, dignity, and social justice. Our society recognizes the need to support communities that have historically faced discrimination based on caste, gender, ethnicity, and disability. Yet one of the most stigmatized and neglected communities continues to struggle for justice—persons affected by leprosy.
Leprosy is an easily curable disease. Effective treatment has been available for decades, and there have been virtually no deaths directly attributable to leprosy in modern times. However, the stigma attached to the disease continues to inflict immense social suffering.
For generations, persons affected by leprosy were subjected to cruel and inhumane discrimination. Under archaic laws such as the Lepers Act of 1898, they were isolated from society, separated from their families, denied voting rights, restricted from travel, prevented from contesting elections, and deprived of fundamental human dignity. Many were forced to live in segregated colonies, effectively experiencing a form of "civil death."
In 1995, India took an important step forward by recognizing leprosy-related disability under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. This recognition was further continued under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The law recognizes various levels of disability, including:
• Legal recognition of leprosy as a disability:
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (PWD Act, 1995) first recognised leprosy as a disability. Under Section 2(i)(iii) of the Act, “disability” explicitly includes “leprosy-cured.”
Further, Section 2(n) defines a “leprosy cured person” as any person who has been cured of leprosy but is suffering from:
(i) Loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifest deformity;
(ii) Manifest deformity and paresis, but having sufficient mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic activity;
(iii) Extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which prevents him from undertaking any gainful occupation.
Section 2(t) defines a “person with disability” as a person suffering from not less than forty per cent (40%) of any disability as certified by a medical authority.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act, 2016) continues this recognition and includes 21 categories of di
Despite these legal provisions, thousands of persons with Grade-1 disability due to leprosy are still denied disability certificates or are assessed below the threshold required to access benefits and protections.
This is a grave injustice.
Loss of sensation in hands and feet can lead to lifelong social discrimination. Yet many affected individuals are denied recognition of their disability and the support they deserve.
Therefore, we are preparing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a minimum 40% disability certification for persons affected by leprosy who have Grade-1 disability, ensuring that they can access the rights, benefits, and protections guaranteed under Indian law.
Even today, many people cured of leprosy continue to hide their condition out of fear of social ostracism. News reports and lived experiences demonstrate that stigma and discrimination remain widespread despite medical advances.
More than a thousand years of stigma cannot be erased without collective action.
Your signature can help bring justice, dignity, and equal rights to over two million persons affected by leprosy. Together, let us become the voice of the voiceless and ensure that no individual is denied equality because of a disease that is curable.
Please sign this petition and share it widely.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Thank you for your support.
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Petition created on 20 June 2026