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Epilepsy and the law: an Indian perspective
Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine (2002) 9, 6164 ß 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and APS. All rights reserved doi: 10.1053/jcfm.2002.0562, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on
REVIEW
Epilepsy and the law: an Indian perspective M. Husain, S. J. Rizvi, J. A. Usmani, S. A. Hanif Department of Forensic Medicine, J.N. Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh SUMMARY. All over the world epileptic patients have traditionally been discriminated legally in matters affecting their everyday existence. India is no exception. In the current paper certain important issues are explored, namely, epilepsy in relation to marriage, criminality, driving and socio-economic crimes. ß 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and APS. All rights reserved Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine (2002) 9, 6164
INTRODUCTION
Act 1955 (No 25 of 1955) in section 2 subsection (a) de®nes Hindu as any person who is Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments including a Virasthawa, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj; subsection (b) any person who is a Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion, and in subsection (c) to any person domiciled in the territories to which the Act extends who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion.3
According to the Indian Census Report, 1991, the total population as on March 1, 1991 stood at 844 million with a sex ratio of 950/10001 (de®ned as the number of females per 1000 males). A study conducted in the Kashmir valley estimated that 1% of the population were suffering from epilepsy. More than 70% of patients had their ®rst attack before 20 years of age. 42% epileptics were found in those aged < 12 years. Up to 50% of children have a seizure at least once in their life time.2 If this 1% per cent ®gure prevailing in the State of Jammu and Kashmir is projected for the other States of India then a ®gure of 12 million emerges as the total number of epileptics domiciled in India. Consequently laws on Mirgi (pronounced as mir-gee) as it is known in India assumes importance when 12 million lives are affected by a disease the foundation of which rest more on myths rather on reality. Undoubtedly epileptic persons have in India been subject to personal and institutionalized discrimination. It is rather unfortunate that the laws relating to epilepsy were framed decades back, prior to the current situations, when tremendous medical advancement have placed the epileptics in not-so-disadvantaged group in other more enlightened parts of the world.
Epilepsy and marriage Section 5 Clause (ii) subsection ß of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, lays down certain preconditions for the proper consummation of marriage in that neither party at the time of marriage has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy. Amazingly this statute was added by Act 68 of 1976 when the rest of the democratic world was introducing progressive amendments to remove discriminatory laws against epileptic patients from their statute books. In democratic countries, the laws are by and large re¯ections of popular opinion which in this case it has been conveniently ignored. Section 13 (1) (ii) of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 provides ground for judicial separation in the event the respondent has been incurably of unsound mind, or has been suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot be reasonably expected to live with the respondent. Strangely no mention of epilepsy has been made as a separate entity. However, judicial pronouncements have equated epilepsy to mental disorder, insanity or unsoundness of mind.
LAWS RELATING TO EPILEPSY India is a country predominated by Hindus which forms the majority community. 85% of the population are believers in Hindu religion. The Hindu Marriage 61
62
Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine
The Special Marriage Act 1954 (Act No 43 of 1954) promulgated similar views in relation to epilepsy.4 A situation may come when through concealment or fraud, a marriage is consummated the question of legitimacy of children would arise in the event of later judicial separation. However, much to the relief, Indian law is quite clear and explicit. (i) Legitimacy of children of void and void able marriage Section 27 (1) of the Special Marriage Act 1954, deals with the legitimacy of children in conditions where the marriage is declared to be null and void or where a decree of nullity is granted in respect of a void able marriage governed by section 25 or where one of the spouse is subject to recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy governed by section 4 (b) (iii). A child of such a marriage is considered to be legitimate under Marriage Laws (Amended) Act 1976, and would be entitled to all the bene®ts accruing out of the lawful wedlock, such as inheritance and maintenance and would qualify to inherit the property of the parents under section 27 (3).5 (ii) Provision for maintenance of a progeny of an epileptic spouse since judicial Separation Section 20 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 provides that a Hindu father or mother is bound during his or her life time to provide maintenance to his or her legitimate child till such time the child remains a minor, i.e., who has not completed 18th year of his or her life.6 Epilepsy and violence In a sensational case an accused murdered his mother and wounded his step-father in a ®t of epilepsy without any apparent cause. After the murder the accused hid in a ravine. The medical evidence showed that the accused was subject to epileptic ®ts and he used to be completely unconscious during such time. It was held that the accused was guilty of the acts charged but no so as to be responsible in law for his action.7 Inference was drawn that the apellant was of unsound mind on account of his having ®t of epilepsy at the time of occurrence and as such he was incapable of knowing the nature of his act or that he was doing what was either wrong or contrary to law, his appeal was accepted and the conviction was set aside.8 In other words, a plea of insane automatism has been established. Under the sections 84 and 90 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, the law equates epilepsy with temporary insanity or incapacity to look after oneself.
The procedure for the trial of insane person is laid down in Chapter XXV of the Code of Criminal Procedure of India (CrPC). The court recognized that there is a distinction between medical insanity and legal insanity,9 and the courts are only concerned with the legal and not the medical view of the question. Legally, insanity is basically concerned to establish absence of mind whatever the medical cause of it may be, in order to absolve the person from the responsibility of his actions at a given point of time. Under the Mc Naghten's Rule incorporated under sections 84 and 90 of Indian Penal Code, the epileptic person may seek its shelter provided he has an associated mental illness. In other words he can plead defense of insanity by pleading sanely about his actions. An epileptic person may commit a crime during the post-ictal or inter-ictal paranoid psychosis under the impact of insane delusion. Under these circumstances, epilepsy is very little different from any other functional psychotic illness and the rules applying to the mentally ill population as a whole. Certain paradoxical situations do exist. For example, a violent act committed while the mind is disordered due to an excess of insulin is `automatism simpliciter' if the insulin is injected while it is an `insane automatism' if the insulin comes from an insulinoma of the pancreas. However, as statistics reveal, the plea of defence of insanity compounded by epilepsy where there is absence of mind, the number is relatively small. Available research fail to support any relationship between epilepsy in general and psychomotor epilepsy.10 Although irritable behavior between seizures is commonly reported in chronic temporal lobe epileptics, they rarely in¯ict physical harm.11 In rare cases some violence may occur in the confusional state which takes place immediately after an epileptic seizure if the individual is provoked. During the brief rage attack, the person appears to lose control and may even destroy some furniture or strike a family member. Rarely is there any actual physical injury, and rarely are criminal charges brought. Furthermore, it is not clear whether aggression occurs because of the seizure itself, associated brain damage that often accompanies psychomotor seizure activity, or is independent of the seizure itself.12 Available evidence indicates that if violence is probably due to a long-standing response pattern of the individual and is not directly related to the seizure itself.13 In the most careful observation of seizure associated with violence, ictal or post-ictal, directed violence is unusual.14 Aggression or violence is most often non-directed or resistive in type. Complex, premeditated or co-ordinated crime or violence is not compatible with what is medically known about epileptic automatism.15
Epilepsy and the law: an Indian perspective Epilepsy and socio-economic crimes The basis of the Indian law is the doctrine of mens rea ± actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea ± the deed does not make a man guilty unless his mind is guilty. To convict a man who at the time of committing an offence was insane or had an absent mind is rather contrary to law and may bring the law into contempt. This doctrine may hold good as far as the criminal law is concerned. However, a new concept of socio-economic crimes is emerging upon the horizon of world economic empire after E.H. Sutherland ®rst coined this electrifying phrase in 1941. The law of economic crimes consider the act of an offense supreme to that of a guilty mind. It is in this context that law accords status to actus reus even where mens rea do not exist. This state of affair rather becomes complicated when an epileptic defense is raised in offense relating to socio-economic sphere. To illustrate an example may be cited of that of a milk vendor who collects milk from many sources in the same container before unloading it at a ®nal destination. Now if upon ®nal checking the milk is found to be adulterated qualitatively and quantitatively, it would constitute an offence under the socio-economic offences act irrespective of the fact that the person had no prior guilty mind16 and in fact had an absent mind while collecting the milk. Since unlike traditional crimes, socio-economic offence affects hundreds of persons of a community by a single act of the offender, the State regards these crimes of strict liability. Strangely the laws are silent over such an eventuality pertaining to its effect on epileptics. Epilepsy and driving Under the Motor Vehicles Act of India 1988, section 15 of the Driving License state that a Licensing Authority may also cancel a driving license if the holder of the license is found medically un®t to drive a motor vehicle and this includes epilepsy.17
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS Patients with epilepsy have been discriminated against since centuries. Temkin (1945) quotes the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi in 2000 BC wherein the purchaser of slave was offered money back guarantee by the vendor in the event the slave develops benu (®ts) within the ®rst month of purchase.18 It is a pity that such extremes in law should have percolated to the present century. Twenty-eight states in USA are on record to have legislation compelling the epileptics to
63
undergo sterilization by consent, and even in some cases by force.19 Perhaps, epilepsy like leprosy has an age old legacy mentality not conducive or reconciliatory to change in the face of revelations of modern medical advancement. Epileptic ®t to be called a disease of mind hightens the stigma. In our view the defense plea of epileptic ®t should be reconsidered in the corpus of Indian law as rarely criminal offense of serious consequence is done during an epileptic ®t. Secondly, under adequate medication 80% of epileptics remain seizure-free at any one point of time. In this regard, the study of Delgado-Escueta and associates (1981) is important in which it is mentioned that in between 1889 and 1970 there were only 15 court cases in USA in which epilepsy had been used as a defence against charges of homicide, manslaughter or disorderly conduct14 and this despite the fact that America is considered to be a nation of great experimenters where people try to avail both the nominators and denominators of law to their advantage. Comparably India has less to worry about. Regarding epilepsy and marriage It is suggested that the law must not reconcile with blind traditions and should bring statutory disassociation of epilepsy from insanity, unsoundness of mind, lunacy or any other mental disorder. Equating epilepsy with temporary insanity is deleterious and should be deleted from the archaic statutory tomes of India. Concurrently the word `epilepsy' must be removed from relevant sections of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (Act No. 25 of 1955, GOI Publication),20 and the Special Marriage Act (Special Marriage Act 1975 (Act No. 43 of 1954, GOI Publication),21. Balancing the act, legislation should offer full protection against instances of fraud and beguile perpetrated against the innocent other party in arranged Indian marriages. Regarding epilepsy and driving It is suggested that the approach to issuing the driver's license should be liberal and ¯exible on the lines of recommendations put forth by the Parsonage Committee.22 Each case may be determined on individual basis. Evaluation should be done by the physician who have special interest in epilepsy. The criteria recommended are impairment or loss of consciousness and for motor control for at least one to two years. This would cover generalized tonic-clonic seizures, focal motor seizures, and possibly myoclonic seizures as well. Relapses should be judged on individual merits and in general, a temporary suspension of the driver's license is fairly recommended. Single isolated seizure
64
Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine
should not be considered a bar to driving as in Australia.23 If these suggestions are taken up the darker side cannot be gainsaid. How would the law take care of non-compliance of the patient by way of drug defaulting, failure to report a recurrence and or a change in pattern? REFERENCES 1. Census report, Government of India, 1991 2. The Hindustan Times New Delhi, May 30, 1992 3. Kumud Desai. Indian Law of Marriage and Divorce. 4th edition. N.M. Tripathi Pvt 1981; p. 54 4. Kumud Desai. Indian Law of Marriage and Divorce. 4th edition. N.M. Tripathi Pvt 1981; p. 17 5. Kumud Desai. Indian Law of Marriage and Divorce. 4th edition. N.M. Tripathi Pvt 1981; p. 22 6. Kumud Desai. Indian Law of Marriage and Divorce. 4th edition. N.M. Tripathi Pvt 1981; p. 26 7. Nga Ant Bwe. (1936) 38 Cr LJ 667; (1937) AIR® 99; State v Ahmadulla (1961) 2 Cr LJ 43 (SC) 8. Satwant Singh. 1975 Cri LJ 1605 (P & H) relying on Emperor v Musammat Anandi (1923) ILR 45 All. 229; 1924 Cr LJ 225 (All.) 9. Bagga (1931) 32 PLR 331: 32 Cr LJ 1230: (1931) AIR (L) 276; Sajjan Singh (1931) 2 Cr LJ 816; Ram Adhin (1931) 7 Luck. 341; MST Guryana 1978 Cr LR 401 (Raj.); Someshwar Bora 1981 Cri. LJ (NOC) 51 (Gan.)
10. Blumer D. Epilepsy and Violence. In: Madden DJ, Lion JR (ed) Rage, hate, assault and other forms of violence. New York Spectrum, Publishers 1976 11. Blumer D. Epilepsy and Violence. In: Madden DJ, Lion JR (ed) Rage, hate, assault and other forms of violence. New York Spectrum, Publishers 1976 12. Herzberg JL, Fenwick PBC. The aetiology of aggressions in temporal lobe epilepsy. Br J Psychiatry 1988; 153: 5055 13. Herzberg JL, Fenwick PBC. The aetiology of aggressions in temporal lobe epilepsy. Br J Psychiatry 1988; 153: 5055 14. Delgado-Escueta AV, Mattson RH, King L et al. The nature of aggression during epileptic seizures. New Eng J Med 1981; 305: 711716 15. Schmidt RP, Wilder BJ. Epilepsy and the law: a complimentary from the United States perspective. In: Redley TA, Meldrin BS (ed) Recent Advances in Epilepsy 4, Churchill Livingstone, 1988; p. 255 16. Sarjoo Parshad v State of Uttar Pradesh, 1961, S.C. 631: 1961 (3) SCR 324 17. Motor Vehicles Act of India 1988 18. Temkin O. The falling sickness. John Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1945 19. Guinn J. Medico-legal aspects of epilepsy. In: Reynolds EH, Trimble MR (ed) Epilepsy and Psychiatry. Churchill Livingstone 1981; p. 165 20. Hindu Marriage Act 1955 (Act No, 25 of 1955), GOI Publication 21. Special Marriage Act 1975 (Act No. 43 of 1954) GOI Publication 22. Epilepsy: International Report of the Parsonage Committee on International Summary of Driving Regulations, 1982 23. Medical Guidelines for Drivers and Riders August 1986: commissioner for Motor Transport, New South Wales, Department of Motor Transport, Roseberry NSW, Australia
REVIEW
Epilepsy and the law: an Indian perspective M. Husain, S. J. Rizvi, J. A. Usmani, S. A. Hanif Department of Forensic Medicine, J.N. Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh SUMMARY. All over the world epileptic patients have traditionally been discriminated legally in matters affecting their everyday existence. India is no exception. In the current paper certain important issues are explored, namely, epilepsy in relation to marriage, criminality, driving and socio-economic crimes. ß 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and APS. All rights reserved Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine (2002) 9, 6164
INTRODUCTION
Act 1955 (No 25 of 1955) in section 2 subsection (a) de®nes Hindu as any person who is Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments including a Virasthawa, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj; subsection (b) any person who is a Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion, and in subsection (c) to any person domiciled in the territories to which the Act extends who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion.3
According to the Indian Census Report, 1991, the total population as on March 1, 1991 stood at 844 million with a sex ratio of 950/10001 (de®ned as the number of females per 1000 males). A study conducted in the Kashmir valley estimated that 1% of the population were suffering from epilepsy. More than 70% of patients had their ®rst attack before 20 years of age. 42% epileptics were found in those aged < 12 years. Up to 50% of children have a seizure at least once in their life time.2 If this 1% per cent ®gure prevailing in the State of Jammu and Kashmir is projected for the other States of India then a ®gure of 12 million emerges as the total number of epileptics domiciled in India. Consequently laws on Mirgi (pronounced as mir-gee) as it is known in India assumes importance when 12 million lives are affected by a disease the foundation of which rest more on myths rather on reality. Undoubtedly epileptic persons have in India been subject to personal and institutionalized discrimination. It is rather unfortunate that the laws relating to epilepsy were framed decades back, prior to the current situations, when tremendous medical advancement have placed the epileptics in not-so-disadvantaged group in other more enlightened parts of the world.
Epilepsy and marriage Section 5 Clause (ii) subsection ß of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, lays down certain preconditions for the proper consummation of marriage in that neither party at the time of marriage has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy. Amazingly this statute was added by Act 68 of 1976 when the rest of the democratic world was introducing progressive amendments to remove discriminatory laws against epileptic patients from their statute books. In democratic countries, the laws are by and large re¯ections of popular opinion which in this case it has been conveniently ignored. Section 13 (1) (ii) of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 provides ground for judicial separation in the event the respondent has been incurably of unsound mind, or has been suffering continuously or intermittently from mental disorder of such a kind and to such an extent that the petitioner cannot be reasonably expected to live with the respondent. Strangely no mention of epilepsy has been made as a separate entity. However, judicial pronouncements have equated epilepsy to mental disorder, insanity or unsoundness of mind.
LAWS RELATING TO EPILEPSY India is a country predominated by Hindus which forms the majority community. 85% of the population are believers in Hindu religion. The Hindu Marriage 61
62
Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine
The Special Marriage Act 1954 (Act No 43 of 1954) promulgated similar views in relation to epilepsy.4 A situation may come when through concealment or fraud, a marriage is consummated the question of legitimacy of children would arise in the event of later judicial separation. However, much to the relief, Indian law is quite clear and explicit. (i) Legitimacy of children of void and void able marriage Section 27 (1) of the Special Marriage Act 1954, deals with the legitimacy of children in conditions where the marriage is declared to be null and void or where a decree of nullity is granted in respect of a void able marriage governed by section 25 or where one of the spouse is subject to recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy governed by section 4 (b) (iii). A child of such a marriage is considered to be legitimate under Marriage Laws (Amended) Act 1976, and would be entitled to all the bene®ts accruing out of the lawful wedlock, such as inheritance and maintenance and would qualify to inherit the property of the parents under section 27 (3).5 (ii) Provision for maintenance of a progeny of an epileptic spouse since judicial Separation Section 20 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 provides that a Hindu father or mother is bound during his or her life time to provide maintenance to his or her legitimate child till such time the child remains a minor, i.e., who has not completed 18th year of his or her life.6 Epilepsy and violence In a sensational case an accused murdered his mother and wounded his step-father in a ®t of epilepsy without any apparent cause. After the murder the accused hid in a ravine. The medical evidence showed that the accused was subject to epileptic ®ts and he used to be completely unconscious during such time. It was held that the accused was guilty of the acts charged but no so as to be responsible in law for his action.7 Inference was drawn that the apellant was of unsound mind on account of his having ®t of epilepsy at the time of occurrence and as such he was incapable of knowing the nature of his act or that he was doing what was either wrong or contrary to law, his appeal was accepted and the conviction was set aside.8 In other words, a plea of insane automatism has been established. Under the sections 84 and 90 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, the law equates epilepsy with temporary insanity or incapacity to look after oneself.
The procedure for the trial of insane person is laid down in Chapter XXV of the Code of Criminal Procedure of India (CrPC). The court recognized that there is a distinction between medical insanity and legal insanity,9 and the courts are only concerned with the legal and not the medical view of the question. Legally, insanity is basically concerned to establish absence of mind whatever the medical cause of it may be, in order to absolve the person from the responsibility of his actions at a given point of time. Under the Mc Naghten's Rule incorporated under sections 84 and 90 of Indian Penal Code, the epileptic person may seek its shelter provided he has an associated mental illness. In other words he can plead defense of insanity by pleading sanely about his actions. An epileptic person may commit a crime during the post-ictal or inter-ictal paranoid psychosis under the impact of insane delusion. Under these circumstances, epilepsy is very little different from any other functional psychotic illness and the rules applying to the mentally ill population as a whole. Certain paradoxical situations do exist. For example, a violent act committed while the mind is disordered due to an excess of insulin is `automatism simpliciter' if the insulin is injected while it is an `insane automatism' if the insulin comes from an insulinoma of the pancreas. However, as statistics reveal, the plea of defence of insanity compounded by epilepsy where there is absence of mind, the number is relatively small. Available research fail to support any relationship between epilepsy in general and psychomotor epilepsy.10 Although irritable behavior between seizures is commonly reported in chronic temporal lobe epileptics, they rarely in¯ict physical harm.11 In rare cases some violence may occur in the confusional state which takes place immediately after an epileptic seizure if the individual is provoked. During the brief rage attack, the person appears to lose control and may even destroy some furniture or strike a family member. Rarely is there any actual physical injury, and rarely are criminal charges brought. Furthermore, it is not clear whether aggression occurs because of the seizure itself, associated brain damage that often accompanies psychomotor seizure activity, or is independent of the seizure itself.12 Available evidence indicates that if violence is probably due to a long-standing response pattern of the individual and is not directly related to the seizure itself.13 In the most careful observation of seizure associated with violence, ictal or post-ictal, directed violence is unusual.14 Aggression or violence is most often non-directed or resistive in type. Complex, premeditated or co-ordinated crime or violence is not compatible with what is medically known about epileptic automatism.15
Epilepsy and the law: an Indian perspective Epilepsy and socio-economic crimes The basis of the Indian law is the doctrine of mens rea ± actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea ± the deed does not make a man guilty unless his mind is guilty. To convict a man who at the time of committing an offence was insane or had an absent mind is rather contrary to law and may bring the law into contempt. This doctrine may hold good as far as the criminal law is concerned. However, a new concept of socio-economic crimes is emerging upon the horizon of world economic empire after E.H. Sutherland ®rst coined this electrifying phrase in 1941. The law of economic crimes consider the act of an offense supreme to that of a guilty mind. It is in this context that law accords status to actus reus even where mens rea do not exist. This state of affair rather becomes complicated when an epileptic defense is raised in offense relating to socio-economic sphere. To illustrate an example may be cited of that of a milk vendor who collects milk from many sources in the same container before unloading it at a ®nal destination. Now if upon ®nal checking the milk is found to be adulterated qualitatively and quantitatively, it would constitute an offence under the socio-economic offences act irrespective of the fact that the person had no prior guilty mind16 and in fact had an absent mind while collecting the milk. Since unlike traditional crimes, socio-economic offence affects hundreds of persons of a community by a single act of the offender, the State regards these crimes of strict liability. Strangely the laws are silent over such an eventuality pertaining to its effect on epileptics. Epilepsy and driving Under the Motor Vehicles Act of India 1988, section 15 of the Driving License state that a Licensing Authority may also cancel a driving license if the holder of the license is found medically un®t to drive a motor vehicle and this includes epilepsy.17
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS Patients with epilepsy have been discriminated against since centuries. Temkin (1945) quotes the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi in 2000 BC wherein the purchaser of slave was offered money back guarantee by the vendor in the event the slave develops benu (®ts) within the ®rst month of purchase.18 It is a pity that such extremes in law should have percolated to the present century. Twenty-eight states in USA are on record to have legislation compelling the epileptics to
63
undergo sterilization by consent, and even in some cases by force.19 Perhaps, epilepsy like leprosy has an age old legacy mentality not conducive or reconciliatory to change in the face of revelations of modern medical advancement. Epileptic ®t to be called a disease of mind hightens the stigma. In our view the defense plea of epileptic ®t should be reconsidered in the corpus of Indian law as rarely criminal offense of serious consequence is done during an epileptic ®t. Secondly, under adequate medication 80% of epileptics remain seizure-free at any one point of time. In this regard, the study of Delgado-Escueta and associates (1981) is important in which it is mentioned that in between 1889 and 1970 there were only 15 court cases in USA in which epilepsy had been used as a defence against charges of homicide, manslaughter or disorderly conduct14 and this despite the fact that America is considered to be a nation of great experimenters where people try to avail both the nominators and denominators of law to their advantage. Comparably India has less to worry about. Regarding epilepsy and marriage It is suggested that the law must not reconcile with blind traditions and should bring statutory disassociation of epilepsy from insanity, unsoundness of mind, lunacy or any other mental disorder. Equating epilepsy with temporary insanity is deleterious and should be deleted from the archaic statutory tomes of India. Concurrently the word `epilepsy' must be removed from relevant sections of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (Act No. 25 of 1955, GOI Publication),20 and the Special Marriage Act (Special Marriage Act 1975 (Act No. 43 of 1954, GOI Publication),21. Balancing the act, legislation should offer full protection against instances of fraud and beguile perpetrated against the innocent other party in arranged Indian marriages. Regarding epilepsy and driving It is suggested that the approach to issuing the driver's license should be liberal and ¯exible on the lines of recommendations put forth by the Parsonage Committee.22 Each case may be determined on individual basis. Evaluation should be done by the physician who have special interest in epilepsy. The criteria recommended are impairment or loss of consciousness and for motor control for at least one to two years. This would cover generalized tonic-clonic seizures, focal motor seizures, and possibly myoclonic seizures as well. Relapses should be judged on individual merits and in general, a temporary suspension of the driver's license is fairly recommended. Single isolated seizure
64
Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine
should not be considered a bar to driving as in Australia.23 If these suggestions are taken up the darker side cannot be gainsaid. How would the law take care of non-compliance of the patient by way of drug defaulting, failure to report a recurrence and or a change in pattern? REFERENCES 1. Census report, Government of India, 1991 2. The Hindustan Times New Delhi, May 30, 1992 3. Kumud Desai. Indian Law of Marriage and Divorce. 4th edition. N.M. Tripathi Pvt 1981; p. 54 4. Kumud Desai. Indian Law of Marriage and Divorce. 4th edition. N.M. Tripathi Pvt 1981; p. 17 5. Kumud Desai. Indian Law of Marriage and Divorce. 4th edition. N.M. Tripathi Pvt 1981; p. 22 6. Kumud Desai. Indian Law of Marriage and Divorce. 4th edition. N.M. Tripathi Pvt 1981; p. 26 7. Nga Ant Bwe. (1936) 38 Cr LJ 667; (1937) AIR® 99; State v Ahmadulla (1961) 2 Cr LJ 43 (SC) 8. Satwant Singh. 1975 Cri LJ 1605 (P & H) relying on Emperor v Musammat Anandi (1923) ILR 45 All. 229; 1924 Cr LJ 225 (All.) 9. Bagga (1931) 32 PLR 331: 32 Cr LJ 1230: (1931) AIR (L) 276; Sajjan Singh (1931) 2 Cr LJ 816; Ram Adhin (1931) 7 Luck. 341; MST Guryana 1978 Cr LR 401 (Raj.); Someshwar Bora 1981 Cri. LJ (NOC) 51 (Gan.)
10. Blumer D. Epilepsy and Violence. In: Madden DJ, Lion JR (ed) Rage, hate, assault and other forms of violence. New York Spectrum, Publishers 1976 11. Blumer D. Epilepsy and Violence. In: Madden DJ, Lion JR (ed) Rage, hate, assault and other forms of violence. New York Spectrum, Publishers 1976 12. Herzberg JL, Fenwick PBC. The aetiology of aggressions in temporal lobe epilepsy. Br J Psychiatry 1988; 153: 5055 13. Herzberg JL, Fenwick PBC. The aetiology of aggressions in temporal lobe epilepsy. Br J Psychiatry 1988; 153: 5055 14. Delgado-Escueta AV, Mattson RH, King L et al. The nature of aggression during epileptic seizures. New Eng J Med 1981; 305: 711716 15. Schmidt RP, Wilder BJ. Epilepsy and the law: a complimentary from the United States perspective. In: Redley TA, Meldrin BS (ed) Recent Advances in Epilepsy 4, Churchill Livingstone, 1988; p. 255 16. Sarjoo Parshad v State of Uttar Pradesh, 1961, S.C. 631: 1961 (3) SCR 324 17. Motor Vehicles Act of India 1988 18. Temkin O. The falling sickness. John Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1945 19. Guinn J. Medico-legal aspects of epilepsy. In: Reynolds EH, Trimble MR (ed) Epilepsy and Psychiatry. Churchill Livingstone 1981; p. 165 20. Hindu Marriage Act 1955 (Act No, 25 of 1955), GOI Publication 21. Special Marriage Act 1975 (Act No. 43 of 1954) GOI Publication 22. Epilepsy: International Report of the Parsonage Committee on International Summary of Driving Regulations, 1982 23. Medical Guidelines for Drivers and Riders August 1986: commissioner for Motor Transport, New South Wales, Department of Motor Transport, Roseberry NSW, Australia