No Court-Ordered Probe: SC Turns Down PIL on Cough Syrup Deaths

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a Public Interest Litigation seeking a CBI investigation and reforms in the national drug safety regime following the tragic deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan allegedly tied to contaminated cough syrups.  

A bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai, with Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and K Vinod Chandran, declined to entertain the plea filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari after strong objections raised by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.  

Mehta argued that the petitioner had relied solely on newspaper reports and had no independent foundation for the claims. “The petitioner reads the newspaper and rushes to the court,” he said. He further submitted that existing law enforcement and regulatory mechanisms in the states, which have already initiated action in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, should not be undermined.  

Though the Court considered issuing notice at one stage, it ultimately decided against doing so. When the bench asked Tiwari how many PILs he had filed previously, he reportedly replied that he had filed eight to ten. On that basis, the Court dismissed the petition. “Dismissed,” said the Chief Justice.  

The plea had called for systemic reform and a central probe in view of the allegations that tainted cough syrups had caused child fatalities in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. With the court’s dismissal, the responsibility now rests with state authorities and existing drug regulators.

The deaths reported in multiple districts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have attracted widespread concern. In response, regulators have flagged “serious lapses” in quality control at pharmaceutical firms, particularly with regard to batch testing of both raw materials and finished syrups.   In the past few days, authorities have declared three cough syrups Coldrif, Respifresh TR and ReLife as toxic and demanded their recall.  

Following media and regulatory alerts, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has ordered audits and inspections of cough syrup manufacturing units across the country, requesting states to furnish lists of manufacturers in their jurisdictions.  

Meanwhile, police in Tamil Nadu arrested S. Ranganathan, the owner of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the Coldrif syrup implicated in many of the deaths. That company’s operations have also been shut down as investigations deepen.  

With the Supreme Court refusing to interfere, the spotlight now turns to state drug controllers, health authorities, and national regulators to demonstrate credible action in preventing further tragedies.