Madras High Court appoints Special Investigation Team to probe kidney sale racket

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday appointed a Special Investigation Team, headed by Inspector-General of Police (South Zone) Prem Anand Sinha, to probe the allegations of an organ transplantation racket, especially that of kidney, across the State.

A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and G. Arul Murugan  constituted the SIT comprising the Nilgiris Superintendent of Police  N.S. Nisha, Tirunelveli Superintendent of Police N. Silambarasan,  Coimbatore Superintendent of Police K. Karthikeyan, and Madurai  Superintendent of Police B.K. Arvind.

It asked the SIT to submit a report on the progress of the probe, to be monitored by the court, and the DGP to provide assistance to the SIT. It also asked the Director of Medical and Rural Health Services to provide technical inputs to the team. It took note of recent media reports on the arrests in Telangana in connection with an inter-State organ trafficking racket.

The Bench said trafficking in human organs would infringe the fundamental rights of a citizen. Any violation would not only offend Article 21 of the Constitution but would also cause health problems to the donor or the recipient. It would have wider implications for maintenance of public health. The State should be sensitive while dealing with such issues.

It said that given the seriousness of the allegations, the State was not expected to remain a mute spectator. It was hesitating to register an FIR, stating that there was a statutory bar. Such a stand was unacceptable and the State had not shown enough sensitivity.

The State submitted that under the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, the police cannot file the final report. Instead, the appropriate authority must conduct the investigation. However, the court said cognizable offences were made out in the kidney trafficking racket.

The State said in a status report that an inquiry was conducted by a committee headed by Project Director of Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project S. Vineeth. Licences granted to Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital at Perambalur and Cethar Hospital in Tiruchi for conducting kidney transplants were cancelled, it was submitted.

During an inquiry and a review of the documents, it emerged that the required certificates were fabricated to create an impression that the donors and the recipients were family friends and that donors were arranged by brokers for financial reasons, it said.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by S.N. Sathishwaran of Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram district. 

The petitioner said kidney transplants had increased substantially across Tamil Nadu. However, illegalities were being committed in the process of kidney transplants. He said Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital and Cethar Hospital were found to have committed serious medical malpractices and kidney thefts. The two hospitals, he said, were connected to the political personalities belonging to the ruling DMK.

He said the scandal began unfolding when videos of workers of Pallipalayam and nearby areas in Namakkal district surfaced online. The victims claimed that they were lured into selling their kidneys for ₹5 lakh-₹10 lakh. Several victims later admitted that they received much less than what was promised. The petitioner sought a CBI probe.