Kerala HC Raps Govt Over Dormant Organ Transplant Committee
Court said ‘the entire purpose stood defeated’ as expert body failed to convene even once since August 2024
The Kerala High Court orders defunct State organ donation Advisory Committee to meet and file a preliminary report
The Kerala High Court recently pulled up the State government for failing to activate its Advisory Committee on organ transplantation. Despite being set up more than a year ago, the committee had not convened even a single meeting, prompting the court to direct it to meet within two weeks and file a preliminary report within four weeks.
The division bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji passed the order while hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by 19-year-old M. Advaidh from Thrissur.
The young petitioner approached the court raising concerns over the lack of effective mechanisms for organ donation in Kerala and suggesting steps to improve the system. His plea called for greater transparency and outreach, including official press releases to invite altruistic organ donors, providing information such as patients’ blood groups, transplant hospitals, and financial safeguards for prospective donors.
The bench, which had been monitoring the matter since July, noted that organ transplantation is regulated by the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 and the 2014 Rules. These provisions bar commercial dealings but envisage active measures by governments to facilitate organ donation through institutional mechanisms. One such measure is the constitution of Advisory Committees, comprising experts from medicine, law, social work, and administration, to guide the Appropriate Authority in implementing the law.
On July 7, the court had asked the State whether such an expert body existed. The government informed that an Advisory Committee had indeed been notified on August 28, 2024 for a two-year term under Section 13A of the Act.
However, when the matter was taken up again on August 6, 2025, the petitioner alleged that the committee had made no progress. The court granted the State time to produce details of meetings held or regulations framed by the committee.
By August 21, no such details were forthcoming. The bench warned that it might be forced to draw an adverse inference if the government could not show that the committee was functioning. Wednesday’s hearing confirmed the petitioner’s apprehension: the committee had not met even once in over a year of its two-year tenure.
“The entire purpose of constituting the Committee stands defeated,” the bench observed, noting that organ transplantation issues in Kerala were pressing and could not be ignored. It reminded the State that members of the committee were entitled to allowances equivalent to those of senior government officers, underscoring the need for accountability.
Court directed the Advisory Committee to hold a joint meeting within two weeks and to study the issues raised in the PIL. It also ordered submission of at least a preliminary report to the Director of Medical Education, the Appropriate Authority under the Act, within four weeks.
The bench has scheduled the case for further hearing on November 5, 2025.
Case Title: M Advaidh vs State of Kerala and Ors
Order Date: September 24, 2025
Bench: Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji