Randall John Cafferty with advocate Ajay Verma after the court’s ruling.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement.

A Delhi court on Thursday (March 6, 2025) discharged an American chiropractor whose extradition was sought by Indonesia over an alleged case of malpractice following the death of a patient in the southeast Asian country in 2015.

Also Read | Wanted American chiropractor offering services to devotees in city gurdwara

Randall John Cafferty had fled Indonesia for the U.S. soon after the death of his 32-year-old patient, Allya Siska Nadya, on August 7, 2015. He was arrested immediately after he landed in India in September 2017 due to a red corner notice issued by the Interpol.

Mr. Cafferty was lodged in Tihar jail for four months before being released on bail in February 2018. After his release, Mr. Cafferty lived in Delhi to participate in an extradition enquiry conducted by the court.

After the death of his patient, the Indonesian government had reportedly initiated a crackdown on chiropractic clinics run by foreigners in the country.

In the 32-page judgment, the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Pranav Joshi said “prima facie case against FC (Fugitive Criminal) Mr. Randall John Cafferty is not made out in respect of the offence under Article 359 of the Indonesian Penal Code under Section 7(3) of the Extradition Act, 1962 and FC stands discharged”.

Mr. Cafferty, represented by advocate Ajay Verma, contested the claim that the death of the patient was a result of negligence. Mr. Verma contended that the death occurred due to the medications given by the PondokIndah Hospital and not by the therapy given by Mr. Cafferty.

Mr. Verma further pointed out that no autopsy was conducted after the death of the patient for about six months, whereas, as per the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code, autopsy was mandatory. He said even the forensic report did not suggest that the death of the victim occurred due to chiropractic therapy.

While the Indian government supported the extradition request noting that Mr. Cafferty was neither registered as a health worker nor was he medical practitioner in Indonesia. Despite that, he had given treatment to the victim.

The court, however, found it interesting that none of the other chiropractors or the Chiropractic First Clinic at Pondok Indah Mall were being prosecuted.

“It is quite interesting to further note that despite the fact that the victim died while being treated in the Pondok Indah Hospital, the requesting state did not bother to investigate the probable negligence on the part of the hospital,” the court added.

“There is a considerable time gap between the therapy given and the death of the victim. The victim was under treatment in Pondok Hospital when she died. It was stated by the witness that while under treatment, victim developed a lump on the frontal portion of her neck on left side. There is no material produced which even remotely suggests that the lump appeared due to the chiropractic therapy conducted by the FC,” the court said.