For decades, epilepsy appeared directly in Indian marriage law. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, epilepsy was once listed among conditions that could affect the legal validity of marriage.
The legal wording
Earlier versions of Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act included recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy among conditions relevant to marriage eligibility. This reflected a period when epilepsy was commonly entangled with psychiatric, hereditary and social ideas rather than treated solely as a neurological disorder.
The 1999 change
India removed epilepsy from the relevant marriage restriction in 1999. The change did not automatically erase social stigma, but it removed a striking example of epilepsy being written into personal-status law.
Why this history matters
Marriage restrictions show how a diagnosis can affect far more than healthcare. They can shape family expectations, disclosure, employment, inheritance, housing and social standing. India’s legal change is therefore part of a wider global story about moving epilepsy away from exclusionary law.
Sources
India Code — Hindu Marriage Act
PubMed — research on epilepsy, marriage and stigma in India