The Judicial First Class Magistrate-8, Ernakulam, has issued notice to VPS Lakeshore Hospital and nine doctors on a complaint about offences related to the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.
The court found that there was a prima facie case and sufficient grounds for proceeding against all the accused in the case. The court took the case on file and directed to issue summons to all the accused. The order was issued on a petition filed by Dr. S. Ganapathy of Kollam.
The respondents in the case include Dr. Philip Augustine, Dr. S. Mahesh, Dr. George Jacob Eraly, Dr. Sai Sudarsan, Dr. Thomas Thachil, Dr. Murali Krishna Menon, Dr. Sujith Vasudevan, and Dr. Sajeev S. Vadakkedan.
The petitioner complained that the kidneys and liver of V.J. Abin, who was declared brain-dead after a motorbike accident, was harvested in contravention of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.
According to the complainant, the victim was denied proper treatment at the hospital where he was first taken and later at Lakeshore Hospital, Ernakulam.
The complainant stated that the hospital and the doctors acted in criminal conspiracy and denied proper treatment to the victim, and that his organs were transplanted on a foreign national in violation of the prescribed laws, with the hospital amassing huge money in the process.
Meanwhile, the hospital authorities termed the allegations as factually incorrect. The court ordered an inquiry to ascertain the veracity of the private complaint regarding the alleged incident that took place thirteen-and-a-half years ago.
The hospital authorities maintained that all medical procedures and rules and regulations regarding organ donation were fully complied with, and that there was no lapse on the part of the hospital.
All tests that were required to be done to conform to the Transplantation of Human Organs Act were performed after obtaining written consent from the mother of the deceased. The help of the Society for Organ Retrieval and Transplantation, the only registered institution in Kerala associated with organ transplantation was also sought. The process of retrieving the organs was continued after obtaining written advice from the society, the hospital authorities said.
Published - June 15, 2023 09:24 pm IST
