The National Human Rights Commission has directed AIIMS, New Delhi, to act on a complaint that says institute doctors sent patients to buy a brain implant from a private vendor, bypassing procurement norms and exposing them to additional costs.

In a note sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Thursday, the NHRC has cited a complaint from the Sahyadri Rights Forum, a non-government entity. It accuses AIIMS doctors of violating norms that require institutional procurement from approved vendors at regulated costs.

The complaint referred to a June 2 report in The Telegraph that described how AIIMS neuroradiology department doctors had given patients or their caregivers a vendor’s phone number, instructing them to directly buy a flow diverter — a stent-like device used to treat blood vessel disorders in the brain.

Some AIIMS faculty members have said that asking patients to buy expensive devices from vendors violates the standard procurement norms, intended to shield patients from medical suppliers.

Receipts shared by multiple patients or their caregivers with this newspaper show that the private vendor charged ₹595,550 plus taxes per flow diverter from patients at AIIMS between 2022 and 2025.

Another central government hospital – the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram – had procured the same device for ₹475,000 plus taxes in 2023, according to a purchase price list from the hospital.

The documents show that both sets of devices had a maximum retail price of ₹11.90 lakh.

“The allegations made in the complaint prima facie seem to be serious violations of the human rights of the victims,” the NHRC said in the note sent to the director and the medical superintendent at AIIMS.

The apex rights panel has asked AIIMS to investigate and submit an action-taken report within 15 days.

A faculty member familiar with purchase regulations said the price difference between two government hospitals would contravene what is known as the “fall clause” — a provision that requires uniform pricing across different government institutions.

Some AIIMS faculty members have been concerned about patients being sent to private vendors. One member alerted the authorities in early 2024 saying the practice might be exposing patients to additional costs, according to two AIIMS teachers in Delhi.

The complaint sent to the NHRC requested the commission to take urgent action, “including a detailed investigation, compensation for affected patients, and strict
punishment for those responsible”.