The Government of Gujarat signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Government to implement the Organ Transplant Act, 2008 & Rules, 2014. On 14^th  March, 2019, the Government of Gujarat published the Gujarat Deceased Donor Organ and Tissue Transplantation Guideline (G-DOT GUIDELINES). 

As per these guidelines the submission of Domicile Certificate was mandatory if a patient wanted to register as a recipient for a cadaveric organ. As per the interpretation of the domicile rules and policy of the State of Gujarat, a person should be residing continuously in the state for at least 10 years and must be an Indian citizen.

Three different petitioners were denied a domicile certificate. Two petitioners were denied a domicile certificate as they had not lived in the state for a period of 10 years and the third petitioner was denied a domicile certificate as she was a Canadian citizen holding an OCI card even though she had been living in Gujarat for more than 12 years.      

All three petitions were heard together by the honourable judge of the High Court of Gujarat and final judgment was delivered on 21^st November, 2022. The Honourable High Court judge declared:

“Paragraph 13.1 and 13.10 (C) of the Gujarat Deceased Donor Organ and Tissue C/SCA/18056/2022 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 21/11/2022 Transplantation Guidelines (G – DOT) are held to be ultra-vires the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules 2014. They are held to be unconstitutional, unreasonable and in violation of fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.”

“In light of the paragraphs 13.1 and 13.10(C) of G-DOT guidelines being so declared illegal, the need to have a domicile certificate in order to be registered as a recipient on the State list for cadaveric transplant of an organ in Gujarat is held to be illegal and unconstitutional and the respondent State is directed to register the petitioners and such other recipients for cadaveric transplant of organs without the conditions of submitting a domicile certificate.”

To read the complete judgment and subsequent media coverage, please refer to the following links.