The marriage declaration form issued by IGIMS. (Source: ANI) The marriage declaration form issued by IGIMS. (Source: ANI)

The Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna has raked up a controversy by bringing up a rather bizarre form for its employees. The marriage declaration form issued by the Institute asked the employees to declare their virginity and the number of wives they are married too.

According to ANI, the employees are also asked if they are a widower or a bachelor. Apart from this, the women employees are also asked irrelevant questions like if they are married to a person who has no other wife living or more than one wife living.

Dr. Manish Mandal, the Deputy Medical Superintendent, was quoted by India Today as saying that the declaration form has been a norm since the time the institute was established. “Everyone has to fill this form which is part of Central Services Rules and this form is similar to what AIIMS in Delhi uses. If the Centre or AIIMS changes the format of the form in the future, we will also change it. This is not a new form and has been in practice since 1984 when IGIMS was established,” he added.

He, however, said that the use of word virginity in the form was incorrect. Essentially what is being asked in the form is whether a person is married or unmarried? Personally, I feel the word used should have been unmarried instead of virgin. That would have been sober but what is there in the rules have to be followed,” said Dr Mandal as reported by India Today.

When asked the need to have personal details of the employees, he said that it was done in order to avoid any kind of wrong doing. Referring to the Central Service Rules, Dr. Mandal said that there is a provision that when a person joins the service and later on if she dies because of any eventuality, there may be a claimant or boyfriend who may come to seek a job in place of the victim.

IGIMS recently made headlines after it allegedly refused to provide an ambulance to the parents of a child. The child who died later was carried around by his father.

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