A view of the Supreme Court of India. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
A petition was filed on Tuesday (October 7, 2025) seeking an independent investigation by a judicial commission or an expert committee to probe the cough syrup deaths which have claimed the lives of 14 children in Madhya Pradesh.
The petition filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari has also sought a transfer of the FIRs to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It has also sought a comprehensive inquiry into manufacture, regulation, testing and distribution of contaminated cough syrups containing Diethylene Glycol, a toxic chemical used in industrial solvents, and suggestions for safe manufacture of these medicines.
The plea urged the apex court to seize the present stock of the now-banned Coldrif syrup and ban their sale or distribution. It said the stock must be tested for toxic clearance and verified at NABL laboratories.
A government doctor, who allegedly prescribed Coldrif, linked to the death of several children in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested with the police lodging a case against him and the Tamil Nadu-based manufacturer.
Uttar Pradesh bans Coldrif cough syrup after 14 deaths in Madhya Pradesh
The Madhya Pradesh Police has already formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case, while the State Government suspended Dr. Praveen Soni, a paediatric specialist at the Civil Hospital in the Parasia sub-division in Chhindwara district, accused of prescribing the adulterated syrup — Coldrif — to many of the deceased children at his private clinic.
An FIR was also registered against Coldrif manufacturer, Sresan Pharmaceuticals, based in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram, under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 105 and 276, and Section 27A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
Published – October 07, 2025 12:02 pm IST
