Chandrapur Kidney Racket: HC rejects doctor's plea, imposes Rs 25,000 penalty

Nagpur: Following a petition filed by a Delhi-based doctor accused in the alleged Chandrapur kidney transplant racket, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed his plea after finding discrepancies in an affidavit submitted before the court. The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 25,000 on the petitioner.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that the investigation into an illegal kidney transplant racket targeting debt-ridden farmers has revealed a nationwide operation involving agents, donors, and specialised medical professionals, a police officer said. Investigators found that multiple illegal kidney transplants were allegedly conducted at a hospital in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, with patients reportedly charged between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 80 lakh per transplant.

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A division bench comprising Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Nivedita Mehta held that the petitioner had approached the court “not with clean hands” after the state government pointed out irregularities in the affidavit dated June 22.

The petitioner had approached the High Court challenging alleged actions of the Brahmapuri police in Chandrapur district, claiming violation of his fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, as well as provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act.

However, during the hearing, the state government pleader and senior counsel Devendra Chauhan, assisted by Amit Chutke, argued that the affidavit submitted by the petitioner was fraudulent. The prosecution submitted statements from notary public Poonam Moon, along with extracts from the notary register to support its claim.

The notary reportedly stated that the petitioner had not appeared before her to swear the affidavit. The court also noted inconsistencies between the signatures in the official register and those appearing on the affidavit documents filed before it.

Referring to Supreme Court rulings in Vijay Syal versus State of Punjab and K D Sharma versus Steel Authority of India, the bench stressed that litigants cannot be allowed to pollute judicial proceedings. “It is necessary that parties should not make false or knowingly inaccurate statements or misrepresentation,” the bench observed while underlining the need to preserve the sanctity of court proceedings. “The petitioner is not a layman. He is a doctor by profession. He approached this court, but not with clean hands,” the judges said, reports TOI.

The Chandrapur kidney transplant case has drawn widespread attention due to allegations of an illegal organ transplant network operating across state borders. Investigators are probing suspected violations of transplant laws and unauthorised procedures involving multiple accused persons.

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