Shivangi Prakash –
Published on: September 1, 2021, at 13:05 IST
The Kerala High Court has reaffirmed that an organ donor’s criminal past is not a criteria to be considered by the authorisation committee for human organ transplantation.
“There is no organ in the human body like a criminal kidney or criminal liver or criminal heart,” the Kerala High Court observed.
This observation came from the Single Bench of Justice PV Kunhikrishnan while quashing an order issued by the Ernakulam District Level Authorisation Committee for Transplantation of Human Organs, rejecting a plea for organ transplantation citing the reason that the donor is involved in multiple criminal cases.
The Court was hearing a plea filed by Radhakrishna Pillai, a resident of Kollam and a kidney patient, who had challenged the order of the committee.
The committee rejected his application for kidney transplantation stating that the donor is involved in multiple criminal offences.
The Court also directed the committee to reconsider the petitioner’s plea within one week.
The Court further observed, “There is no difference between the organ of a person without criminal antecedents and the organ of a person who has criminal antecedents. Human blood is passing through all of us. I will apprehend that the committee will reject such applications for permission to donate organs even on the ground that the donor is a murderer, thief, rapist, or involved in minor criminal offences. I hope they will not reject the applications because the donor is a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, or person in a lower caste after comparing with the religion and caste of the recipient.”
The Court perused the entire provisions in the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act and the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014 and found no provision to support the stand of the authorization committee.
The Kerala government while responding in the Court also said that there is no provision in the Act or Rules prohibiting the donation of organs by a person involved in criminal offences.
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