Unacceptable, Disappointing: Madras HC orders SIT probe in kidney transplant racket

Madurai: Coming down heavily on the state government for failing to act decisively in the kidney transplant racket case involving Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College Hospital in Perambalur and Cethar Hospitals in Trichy, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has formed a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case and directed the team to submit a progress report in a month.

While hearing the matter, a division bench comprising Justices S.M. Subramaniam and G. Arul Murugan observed that the state had no justification for not registering an FIR despite clear evidence of large-scale illegal organ trading involving private hospitals, brokers, and even government officials.

The court observed that trafficking of human organs was not just a violation of law but also an attack on citizens’ fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The judges warned that the exploitation of poor and debt-ridden people by touts and hospitals could not be brushed aside.

"Public health is within the State List under the Constitution and the State is bound to show sensitivity in dealing with such nature of issues involving illegal human organ trading and the wider allegations raised in the public domain.When the State appointed team itself has made certain serious allegations against the private hospitals and medical college hospitals etc, the State is not expected to remain as mute spectator. The State is even hesitating to register an F.I.R and arguing before the Court that there is a statutory bar in registering an F.I.R. Such a stand is unacceptable," said the bench.

The case concerns a Public Interest Litigation filed by a practising lawyer, SN Sathishwaran, seeking an investigation into illegal organ trafficking in the state. The petitioner had also alleged that Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College in Perambalur and Cether Hospital in Tiruchirappalli were involved in organ trafficking, and yet no FIR had been registered.

Also read- Madras HC seeks Govt order on licence cancellation in Kidney Transplant Racket Case

The petitioner had also submitted that a committee constituted by the State Government and including IAS officers had conducted a preliminary inquiry into the incidents, and based on the preliminary inquiry, the licenses of the hospital were suspended. The committee had found several illegalities and irregularities in kidney transplantations, which would constitute offences under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act and the BNS Act.

The State informed that it had taken coercive measures and cancelled the licenses of the two medical colleges. The State also submitted that the appropriate authority under the TOHO Act had been conducting an investigation and thus, registering an FIR may not arise at this point.

The court noted that even the government’s own inquiry committee had found fabricated certificates, false affidavits, and the use of fake documents to secure approvals for kidney transplants. Brokers had allegedly lured vulnerable weavers and other poor individuals into selling their kidneys for money.

Taking serious note of the lapses, the court rejected the state’s claim that only the “appropriate authority” under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, could handle the matter, and that no F.I.R. needs to be registered regarding the case. It said offences under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) were clearly traceable and mandated police action.

The bench further held that the State's objection that only an appropriate authority under the Act could register the case was unacceptable since wider allegations had been raised.

"The State's objection that only the appropriate authority under Section 13 of the TOTO Act, 1994, alone has to conduct an investigation is unacceptable for the simple reason that the wider allegations now raised is not only falling under the TOHO Act, 1994 but also falling under the BNS, 2023. When cognizable offences are traceable from and out of the allegations, it is the duty of the State to first register the F.I.R and thereafter conduct an investigation by following the procedure," said the bench.

Calling the government’s reluctance to register FIRs as “unacceptable" and "disappointing", the Bench ordered the formation of a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by IG of Police Premanand Sinha. The SIT has been asked to register FIRs based on the Chief Medical Officer’s complaint, probe the role of brokers, doctors, and private hospitals, and submit its first report before the Registrar (Additional Registrar General) or the Registrar (Judicial) of the Madurai bench by September 24. The Madras High Court itself will monitor the probe.

The SIT team consist of Inspector General of Police South Zone Premanand Sinha, Superintendent of Police (SP) Upper Bazaar Nilgiris NS Nisha, SP Tirunelveli N Silambarasan, SP Coimbatore Dr K Karthikeyan, and SP Madurai BK Arvind. The court directed the Director General of Police to provide all necessary assistance, including police personnel, infrastructure, and other requirements, to the SIT.

Further, the matter has been scheduled for the next hearing on September 24.

Meanwhile, in response to the scandal, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said the health department has initiated action against the district authorisation committee, which included government doctors who approved the transplants. He confirmed that the operating theatres of the two private hospitals involved have been sealed and their organ retrieval licences cancelled.

Show-cause notices have also been issued to nine members of the Madurai District Authorisation Committee by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DME) for approving live organ donations without properly verifying documents. Action will be taken against them once their explanations are received, the minister said.

The Minister added that a police complaint has also been filed against two touts involved in the racket who coerced debt-ridden handloom weavers into selling their kidneys, reports TNIE.

Medical Dialogues a month ago reported that a suspected kidney transplant racket came to light in Namakkal, where a broker allegedly targeted poor textile workers, lured them into selling their kidneys for money at two private hospitals - Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College Hospital in Perambalur and Cethar Hospitals in Trichy.

The donors were secretly taken to private hospitals, admitted as patients, and kept for a week to undergo the transplant in exchange for amounts ranging from Rs 5 to 10 lakh. After the procedure, they were handed over the money, which helped them to repay their debts. The brokers specifically targeted vulnerable and poor individuals who were in urgent need of money. Investigators suspected that the middlemen supplied poor donors to recipients under the guise of false familial relationships.

Following this, the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services permanently revoked both the hospital's transplant licences. Both private hospitals were found submitting forged documents to government accreditation committees to obtain transplant approvals, in violation of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.

To view the official court order, click on the link below:

Also read- Madras HC upholds appointment of differently-abled Siddha doctor under SC quota