New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the tragic deaths of at least 21 children in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district, which were reportedly caused by contaminated cough syrup.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran declined to entertain the petition, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, following strong objections raised by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
Mehta, despite not formally representing any party in the case, intervened to argue that the issue did not necessitate the Supreme Court’s intervention. He asserted that the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were fully competent to handle the matter. “I can say with confidence that the states involved… are capable of taking all effective steps,” Mehta told the bench. He further questioned the petitioner’s motives, suggesting Tiwari was known for filing PILs primarily based on newspaper reports.
When the bench questioned the petitioner about his filing record, Tiwari confirmed he had filed “eight to ten” PILs so far. The court subsequently rejected the plea summarily.
The Chhindwara Tragedy and Contamination Details
The devastating tragedy began after a number of children were administered a cough syrup named Coldrif, manufactured by the Tamil Nadu-based company Sresan Pharma Pvt Ltd. Within days, several children developed acute renal failure, and 21 ultimately succumbed to the illness.
Subsequent laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of Diethylene Glycol (DEG) in the syrup. DEG is a highly toxic industrial chemical known to cause kidney failure and death, and its use in pharmaceutical products is strictly prohibited. Following the revelations, the 75-year-old owner of the pharmaceutical company, G Ranganathan, was arrested in Chennai by a joint team of police from the city and Madhya Pradesh. Reports of similar cases also surfaced from Nagpur, Maharashtra, sparking wider concerns about the extent of the contamination.
Petitioner’s Demands to the Supreme Court
Advocate Tiwari’s petition had called for comprehensive action beyond Chhindwara. He had urged the Supreme Court to:
- Direct a CBI investigation into the incident in Chhindwara and other states.
- Order that the investigation be monitored by a former judge of the apex court for independence and credibility.
- Mandate a nationwide recall and ban on all contaminated cough syrup batches.
- Demand mandatory testing of every syrup-based formulation on the market.
- Order compensation for the bereaved families.
- Establish a National Pharmacovigilance Portal for real-time alerts on unsafe medicines.
The PIL had invoked the fundamental right to health and life under Article 21 of the Constitution, with Tiwari noting, “No medicine meant to heal should ever become an instrument of death.” The petition also referenced previous World Health Organization (WHO) warnings to India regarding DEG and Ethylene Glycol contamination, arguing that systemic reform was still lacking.