HC grants bail to two Bangladeshi approvers in Jaipur kidney transplant racket

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court Thursday granted bail to two Bangladeshi nationals arrested in the alleged 2024 illegal kidney transplant racket, holding that their continued detention would violate the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The single bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand passed the order on petitions filed by Nurul Islam and MD Ahsaanul Kobir, who were arrested on April 23, 2024, in the case registered at Jaipur's Jawahar Circle police station.

The case concerns an alleged interstate and international organ trafficking network in which vulnerable people, including Bangladeshi nationals, were allegedly brought to India for illegal kidney transplants using forged documents, fake identities and fabricated family ties.

The racket probe led to the arrest of several accused, including Bangladeshi nationals and others. In April 2024, police also arrested transplant coordinators Vinod Singh and Giriraj Sharma, SMS Hospital administrative officer Gaurav Singh, and male nurse Bhanu Pratap. Two doctors from a private hospital were also arrested. At the time, police alleged that the transplant procedures were carried out using forged No Objection Certificates, fake identity records and manipulated donor-recipient documents.

During the investigation, the two petitioners turned approvers and helped investigators identify and arrest other accused. The court noted that while the main accused had already secured regular bail, the two approvers remained in custody for over two years despite cooperating with the prosecution.

Citing earlier rulings, the bench said approvers should not be placed in a worse position than principal accused and said the high court could use its inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC to grant bail in exceptional cases where trial delays lead to prolonged incarceration.

The court ordered release of both men on bonds of Rs 5 lakh each with two sureties of Rs 2.5 lakh each and directed immigration authorities to monitor their movement under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. It also ordered state and police officials to communicate the bail order to the immigration authorities concerned for further action.