Kerala High Court orders a Crime Branch SIT into a cosmetic surgery done at a day care centre

29 October 2026

Justice G Girish of the Kerala High Court rejected the police report in a medical negligence complaint and ordered a fresh investigation by a special team of the Crime Branch.
The team has to be set up within two weeks and must file its report within six months of being formed.
The complainant, Neethu, a software professional from Thiruvananthapuram, says complications after fat removal surgery cost her nine fingers and left her with more than 80 per cent physical disability.
The surgery was done at a clinic that was registered only as a day care centre, and the Court called that a serious lapse.
Under the Kerala Clinical Establishments Rules, 2023, a day care centre may take up only procedures that let a patient be discharged within 24 hours of admission.
District level and State level expert panels had looked at the complaint earlier without confirming negligence, and the Court said neither had asked whether the choice of facility was itself negligent.
The State Level Apex Committee had confined itself to criminal negligence, leaving civil liability to the competent authority.