Court directs hospital to forward donor's application to District Level Authorization Committee despite donor's involvement in multiple criminal cases
In a significant judgment dated September 9, 2026, the Kerala High Court held that a person's criminal antecedents cannot be a ground to reject an application for organ donation under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994. The writ petition was filed by Muhammed Jishar A, a chronic kidney disease patient undergoing treatment at Lakeshore Hospital & Research Centre Ltd, who required a kidney transplant.
The petitioner's close friend, Sri. Frijo C.F., aged 34, volunteered to donate a kidney. However, the hospital refrained from forwarding the application to the District Level Authorization Committee after the police report revealed the donor had five criminal cases registered against him in Thrissur District. This prompted the petitioner to approach the Kerala High Court seeking directions to consider the donor's application without discrimination based on criminal history.
Justice Harisankar V. Menon, after hearing arguments from both sides, opined that the statutory provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act do not prohibit a person with criminal antecedents from donating organs. The Court emphasized that the District Level Authorization Committee must evaluate the application strictly on the basis of the provisions of the Act and relevant precedents, not on extraneous factors such as police cases.
The Court relied on earlier decisions including Radhakrishna Pillai v. District Level Authorisation Committee, Ernakulam (2021), which held that criminal antecedents cannot be a ground to refuse organ donation. The judgment also referenced subsequent rulings in Uvais Muhammad K.C. v. State of Kerala (2025) and Shareef M. v. State of Kerala (2025) to reinforce this principle.
Accordingly, the Court directed the hospital to immediately place the donor's papers before the District Level Authorization Committee for consideration in accordance with law. This ruling underscores the importance of ensuring that organ transplantation procedures are not impeded by irrelevant factors such as a donor's criminal history, thereby facilitating timely and lawful organ donation.
Bottom Line:
Criminal antecedents of a proposed organ donor cannot be a ground to reject the application for organ donation under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994.
Statutory provision(s): Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994
