Today, On 9th February, The Supreme Court declined to cancel the bail of a Gujarat cardiologist accused of performing unnecessary and botched PMJAY angioplasties that led to two deaths. The bench told the state, “He is a doctor, Let Him Serve.”
The Supreme Court declined to revoke the bail granted to a cardiologist from Gujarat, who was arrested for performing unnecessary and poorly executed angioplasty procedures on two beneficiaries of the PMJAY scheme, resulting in their deaths.
A bench consisting of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar dismissed a petition from the Gujarat government challenging the regular bail awarded by the high court on December 8 of the previous year to Dr. Prashant Vazirani.
The bench remarked to Swati Ghildiyal, standing counsel for the Gujarat government,
“He is a doctor, a cardiologist, let him serve. You can keep a watch on him. If he’s doing something, you can take recourse,”
The Gujarat government asserted that this was a serious case, pointing out that two individuals had lost their lives due to the doctor’s unnecessary procedures.
Justice Maheshwari responded,
“We have seen all the material. We will not interfere,”
The court also inquired of senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing Vazirani,
“Why was he doing all this? You are a cardiologist, don’t indulge in all this.”
Earlier, On December 8 of last year, the high court had granted bail to Vazirani, who performed angioplasties on the victims at Khyati Multispeciality Hospital in Ahmedabad.
Following a police investigation, three FIRs were filed on November 14, 2024, regarding the deaths of the two PMJAY beneficiaries due to unnecessary and botched angioplasty procedures, leading to Vazirani’s arrest.
The Vastrapur police in the city registered the cases and apprehended the doctor. Two complaints were filed by the families of the deceased, while a third was filed after the Chief District Medical Officer contacted the police on behalf of the state government. Authorities claim the accused conspired to gain undue financial advantage from the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), leading to the victims’ deaths.
Nagarbhai Senma (59) and Mahesh Barot (45), both from Mehsana district, were among seven individuals who underwent angioplasty and stent placement at the Ahmedabad hospital.
Tragically, both died on the same day as the procedure. According to the FIRs, the surgeries were performed without any medical necessity.
Moreover, proper post-operative care was reportedly not provided, and no cardiologist was present at the time of the patients’ deaths. The police claimed that the hospital misrepresented the severity of the arterial blockages to incentivize patients to undergo angioplasty, thereby exploiting the PMJAY scheme for financial gain.
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Relatives of the deceased accused the hospital of deception, stating that the heart procedures were conducted hastily to take unwarranted advantage of the government scheme, which offers free health insurance of up to Rs.5 lakh annually for eligible individuals.
As detailed in the FIRs filed by the families, the hospital had organized a free medical check-up camp in Borisana village, Mehsana district, on November 10, 2024. Subsequently, the hospital brought 19 villagers to its facility in Ahmedabad on November 11, 2024, for necessary angiography.
Following this, angioplasty was performed on seven of them, including stent placements, all on the same day. Angioplasty is a medical procedure that widens blocked or narrowed coronary arteries to enhance blood flow to the heart.