HIV testing should not be a precondition for employment, the Centre told the Supreme Court recently. “The Government feels there is no rationale for mandatory testing of a person for HIV/ AIDS. On the other hand, such an approach could backfire as it may put off a large number of suspected cases,” Solicitor General GE Vahanvati said on behalf of Central Government. Acting upon an appeal filed in the Apex Court —seeking directions for making HIV-testing mandatory, the Apex court had directed Vahnavati to put forth the Government’s views. The government had then stated in its affidavit that it would abide by the National AIDS Prevention and Control Policy, which states that people living with AIDS should have equal rights as other members of the society including in employment. Giving its take on the policy, Arun Kumar (an official in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) said mandatory tests for HIV/AIDS had no justification. He in fact quoted from the previous regime's National AIDS Prevention and Control Policy, which said: “No individual should be made to undergo a mandatory test for HIV.”The Government, in fact seems more compromising than the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It has expressed a need for voluntary tests with room for pre-test and post-test counselling that were in keeping with the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines to ensure proper treatment.However, to stem the rise in AIDS cases the government has assured the Apex Court of ensuring social and economic well-being of people in general.
