Supreme Court declines CBI probe plea over children’s deaths linked to toxic cough syrups

 

The Supreme Court on Friday, October 10, refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the deaths of several children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan allegedly caused by contaminated cough syrups.

 

A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran dismissed the plea filed by Advocate Vishal Tiwari. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the petition, arguing that the respective state governments were already conducting independent investigations and were fully capable of handling the matter.

 

Mehta further informed the bench that the petitioner frequently files PILs based solely on news reports. Responding to this, the Chief Justice asked Tiwari, “How many PILs have you filed so far?” to which he replied, “Eight or nine.” The bench then chose not to pursue the matter further and dismissed the plea.

 

The petition had been filed in light of recent incidents in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the consumption of allegedly spurious cough syrups was linked to multiple child fatalities.

 

Advocate Tiwari’s PIL had sought the creation of a National Judicial Commission or Expert Committee—to be chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge—to carry out an extensive investigation into the manufacturing, testing, and distribution of cough syrups found to contain Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Ethylene Glycol (EG), both toxic chemicals previously responsible for several deaths in India and abroad.

 

Additionally, the petition called for transferring all related FIRs and investigations from different states to the CBI, to ensure a coordinated and impartial probe. It claimed that scattered state-level investigations had led to weak accountability and repeated cases of contaminated medicines entering the market.