Kidney racket: Five arrested doctors get bail

A Magistrate court granted bail on Thursday to the five doctors arrested for their alleged role in the Hiranandani kidney racket. The court granted the doctors bail for a surety of Rs 30,000 each.

The legal counsel for the doctors argued that the doctors were being punished for a minor offence. “The doctors are languishing in prison for not filling forms properly, which is not a serious offences,” said advocate Abad Ponda.

He also argued that some of the main accused, including the woman who was going to donate the kidney, were out on bail. “The police have already submitted that the doctors did not gain any financial benefit,” Mr Ponda said.

The Powai police had on August 9 arrested hospital CEO Dr Sujit Chatterjee, medical director Dr Anurag Naik, and doctors Mukesh Madhukar Shette, Mukesh Shah and Prakashchandra Shette for their alleged involvement in a kidney donation racket that was busted at the LH Hiranandani Hospital. The doctors were booked under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act following a report by the Directorate of State Health Services (DHS), which had named all of them in its investigation.

“None of these forms that are alleged to be forged documents would lead to violations of a grave nature. The section of The Transplantation of Human Organs Act is not a serious offence; it is punishable by only seven years,” advocate Pranav Badheka told the court. Mr Ponda also requested the court to grant bail to Shette on humanitarian grounds since his wife had delivered twins recently, and his wife was in a critical question.

Magistrate A.D. Lokhande then granted bail to all the five doctors with Rs 30,000 surety each and also on the condition that they would appear before the Powai police every Monday till September 26.