Indian states consider pre-marital HIV tests

Two Indian states are considering laws which could force brides and grooms to have HIV tests before marriage.

The law department of Andhra Pradesh is proposing a law which will allow one party to demand a test certificate from another.

Goa enacted such a law last week and is now considering making HIV testing mandatory for both before marriage.

During a debate in the Goa state assembly, the Speaker Pratap Singjh Rani asked why the state government didn't intervene if Aids poses such a big threat, reports said.

Andhra Pradesh Law Minister P Chandrasekhar said earlier: "If a person who has Aids hides this fact before marriage, it amounts to murdering the spouse. It is a criminal act and needs deterrent punishment."

The minister says he knows of many instances when HIV-positive people, mostly young men, have concealed the fact before marriage.

"In one case, a young girl got to know barely a month after her wedding that her husband, who was from an affluent family, was HIV positive. She too contracted the virus", he said.