Organ Trafficking ‘Crime Against Humanity’: Kerala HC Flags Wider Criminal Network

The Kerala High Court’s decision to deny bail to Muhammed Najeeb Kallatra has brought focus on an organised organ-trafficking network that investigators say operated through Kallatharas Medical Tourism Pvt Ltd as medical tourism.

Justice Kauser Edappagath described illegal organ trafficking as a “serious crime against humanity and society at large”, stressing that it exploits vulnerable people, fuels organised crime and undermines confidence in lawful organ-donation programmes. The accused faces offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, which prohibits commercial dealings in human organs and governs transplantation.

According to investigators, the alleged network recruited financially distressed donors, arranged recipients and used forged documents to make illegal donations appear lawful. The High Court said Kallatra allegedly forged documents required before the Authorisation Committee, while the prosecution alleged that medical certificates carrying forged seals and signatures of two district hospital doctors were used. Investigators are examining the role of agents, middlemen, facilitators, hospitals and financial beneficiaries.

The probe remains active. Kerala Police has registered six cases, while the Enforcement Directorate has examined the suspected money trail. In June, the ED searched nine premises across Kerala, including hospital locations, and scrutinised bank accounts, transplant records and other documents. Accounts linked to alleged agents and intermediaries have been examined or frozen as investigators trace suspected proceeds of crime.

The number of people and institutions implicated remains unsettled. Reports said nine people had been arrested, but the High Court specifically noted that investigators were still identifying other conspirators, middlemen, facilitators, financial beneficiaries and hospitals.

The investigation is also examining wider links. Police have suspected connections beyond Kerala, including other parts of India and potentially abroad, because the medical-tourism operation dealt with patients from other states and countries. However, the High Court has not established a specific international network or foreign beneficiaries.