A lower court in Kerala has issued summons to the Lakeshore Hospital in Kochi as well as eight doctors over a complaint alleging illegal organ transplantation.
“The magistrate is required to apply his mind as to whether sufficient ground for proceeding exists in the case or not. The formation of such an opinion is required to be stated in the order itself. The order is liable to be set aside if no reasons are given therein while coming to the conclusion that there is a prima facie case against the accused. No doubt, that the order need not contain detailed reasons,” the court said.
This case surfaced when a doctor from Kollam, S. Ganapathy filed a complaint after coming to know from a newspaper about an organ transplant done in 2009 from a brain dead teenager who had met with a very serious accident.
“The patient was first admitted to a hospital in Kothamangalam and was later shifted to the Lakeshore Hospital. The doctor who referred the patient to the Lakeshore Hospital had previously worked there, where the patient was declared brain dead. Following this, his kidneys and liver were harvested,” said Ganapathy, who made detailed inquiries into what happened and then filed the complaint.
The recipient was a foreign national.
“I find that there is a prima face case and sufficient grounds for proceeding in respect of offences u/s. 18, 20 and 21 of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 (pre-amended), against all accused”, read the court order.
Meanwhile the family of the patient is also alarmed by the turn of events and is waiting, while Ganapathy is sure that he is on the right path.
But the hospital stands firm that it has done no wrong and is ready to prove its position in the court.
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