Supreme Court dismisses plea on cough syrup deaths

A public interest petition seeking an independent inquiry by a judicial commission or an expert committee to probe the cough syrup deaths that killed 22 children in Madhya Pradesh was cut short in the Supreme Court on Friday (October 10, 2025).

A bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran rejected the plea while asking lawyer-petitioner Vishal Tiwari how many times he had filed a PIL in his legal career.

Mr. Tiwari primarily sought a centralized investigation. He said that Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where the now banned Coldrif syrup producer is located, were on edge, blaming each other for the deaths, while precious time was wasted without any significant steps being taken by the US in the investigation.

Attorney General Tushar Mehta, who was in the courtroom for another case, intervened and said that although he did not represent any State, “we have to trust the States”.

“Tamil Nadu will take necessary steps,” Mr. Mehta said. He said petitioners like Mr. Tiwari read newspapers and approached the court without any background material or evidence.

The petition filed by advocate Mr. Tiwari also sought the transfer of FIRs to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It had sought a comprehensive investigation into the production, regulation, testing and distribution of contaminated cough syrups containing Diethylene Glycol, a toxic chemical used in industrial solvents, and recommendations for the safe production of these drugs.

The claim had called for the high court to seize existing stocks of the now banned Coldrif syrup and ban their sale or distribution. He said the stocks should be tested for toxic clearance and verified in NABL laboratories.

A government doctor who allegedly prescribed Coldrif in connection with the deaths of several children in Madhya Pradesh has been arrested as police registered a case against him and the Tamil Nadu-based manufacturer.

While the Madhya Pradesh Police has already constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case, the State Government has asked Dr. Praveen suspended Soni on charges of prescribing adulterated syrup – Coldrif – to most of the deceased children at his private clinic.

Additionally, an FIR has been registered against Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram-based Coldrif manufacturer Sresan Pharmaceuticals under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 105 and 276 and Section 27A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.