A kidney sale that led to a CB-CID probe in Tamil Nadu Premium

A kidney sale scandal in Tamil Nadu in 2007 exposed a network of illegal organ trade, prompting a CB-CID investigation and arrests.

It was not just another case of cheating and criminal breach of trust. In 2007, the contents of the complaint lodged by a visibly fragile Mallika of Tondiarpet in Chennai were shocking. The woman alleged she sold one of her kidneys for ₹1.5 lakh but the agent cheated her by settling only ₹30,000 after the organ was transplanted.

With preliminary inquiries unfolding a major scam exposing a well-oiled network of a corporate hospital, transplant surgeons and agents involved in the sale/purchase of human organs, the Chennai Police handed over the case to the Crime Branch CID for further investigation.

But, there was a catch for the CB-CID in taking up the case, considering the nature of the crime. They had no jurisdiction to investigate offences related to commercial dealings involving human organs. The Government of India had by then passed a special law — the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 — applicable to all States where the Appropriate Authority to probe irregularities relating to human organs was the Director of Medical Education.

The objective of the law was to provide for the regulation of removal, storage and transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and for the prevention of commercial dealings in human organs. It was also intended “to restrict the sale/purchase of human organs and protect poor people from falling into the trap of brokers and doctors/surgeons indulging in professional misconduct.”

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