The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the authorisation committees of the state to which the donor and the donee belong has the power to give approval for kidney transplant surgery.

A Bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia passed the order.

Under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, the states have been authorised to accord sanction for transplantations to stop trade in human organs.

Such committees would be in a better position to ascertain the purpose for the removal of the organ and whether any commercial element was involved or not, Justice Pasayat, writing for the Bench, said.

The court added that the state, where the recipient is undergoing the medical treatment, does not have the power to make such decisions.

The ruling came after a person from Ludhiana, who was being treated in Chennai for renal disorder, had a relative agreeing to donate one of his kidneys.

He, however, had to approach the SC to know which state -- Punjab or Tamil Nadu -- was competent to accord statutory sanction for the transplantation.

In this case, both Punjab and Tamil Nadu kept shifting the responsibility. While Tamil Nadu claimed it had the right since the operation was being done there, Punjab said the patient's domicile state had the power.