File photo of Indian surgeon Jayant Patel
An Australian jury was discharged on Tuesday after they were unable to reach a verdict in the long-running case of an Indian-born surgeon accused of harming a patient, reports said.
Jayant Patel, 63, had pleaded not guilty in the District Court in Brisbane to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm to Ian Vowles when he operated on him at Queensland's Bundaberg Base Hospital in 2004.
The prosecution has argued that the surgery to remove parts of Vowles' colon and rectum was unnecessary, and left him with ongoing issues.
But Patel's lawyers said the surgeon took reasonable care of his patient and had offered him treatment options.
Justice Terry Martin discharged the jury on Tuesday afternoon, their fourth day of deliberations, after they sent him a note saying they were unable to reach a unanimous decision, Australian Associated Press said.
It was the second time Patel had been tried on the charge and it is not yet known whether prosecutors will seek a third trial.
Patel was jailed for seven years in July 2010 after a jury found him guilty of criminal negligence resulting in the deaths of three patients and of causing harm to Vowles, but the High Court quashed the convictions in 2012 and ordered retrials.
In March, Patel was acquitted of one of the manslaughter charges. At the time, prosecutors said they would pursue the remaining charges against the surgeon which relate to his time in Bundaberg between 2003 and 2004, including two counts of manslaughter.
Patel refused to comment outside court but his lawyer Ken Fleming described the latest result as disappointing and said his client was determined to fight all the charges.