The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Gujarat government’s plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to a cardiologist accused of carrying out unnecessary and allegedly botched angioplasty procedures on beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), resulting in the death of two patients.
A bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.S. Chandurkar refused to interfere with the Gujarat High Court’s December 8, 2025, order granting regular bail to Dr Prashant Vazirani.
“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 bench told Gujarat’s standing counsel, Swati Ghildiyal.
Despite arguments from the state highlighting the seriousness of the case involving loss of two lives, Justice Maheshwari remarked, “We have seen all the material. We will not interfere.”
Dr Prashant Vazirani was arrested on November 14, 2024, by Vastrapur police in Ahmedabad following three FIRs alleging that he conducted unwarranted angioplasties on PMJAY beneficiaries at Khyati Multispeciality Hospital, leading to the death of two men — Nagarbhai Senma (59) and Mahesh Barot (45), both residents of Mehsana district.
The FIRs were based on complaints from the victims’ families and one from the Chief District Medical Officer, who acted on behalf of the state government.
According to police, the accused doctor and hospital staff “hatched a conspiracy to get undue financial benefit” under the government’s PMJAY scheme by falsely diagnosing patients with arterial blockages and performing stent placements without medical necessity.
The hospital had conducted a free medical camp on November 10, 2024, in Borisana village, Mehsana, and brought 19 villagers to Ahmedabad the next day. Angiography was performed on all of them, and seven underwent angioplasty with stent placement on the same day.
Senma and Barot died shortly after the procedures. The FIRs alleged that the hospital failed to provide proper post-operative care and that no cardiologist was present at the time of their deaths.
The police further stated that patients were misled into undergoing invasive heart procedures to inflate claims under the PMJAY scheme, which provides up to ₹5 lakh annually for medical treatment to economically disadvantaged individuals.
During the hearing, Justice Maheshwari also questioned Dr Vazirani’s counsel, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar:
“Why was he doing all this? You are a cardiologist, don’t indulge in all this.”
Despite the serious allegations, the apex court chose not to interfere with the high court’s bail order, leaving the state government the option to monitor the doctor’s conduct and take further legal steps if necessary.
