SC dismisses plea for CBI probe into deaths of 21 children from toxic cough syrup
The bench declined to entertain the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, following objections raised by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the deaths of at least 21 children in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district reportedly caused by the consumption of contaminated cough syrup.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran declined to entertain the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, following objections raised by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
Although Mehta was not formally representing any party in the case, he submitted that the issue did not warrant the Supreme Court’s intervention since the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were already competent to deal with it.
“I am not appearing in this case, but I can say with confidence that the states involved -- Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, are capable of taking all effective steps,” Mehta told the bench. He further remarked, that the PIL petitioner is known for filing cases based on newspaper reports. “Please ask him how many matters he has filed apart from PILs,” he submitted.
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When the bench asked Tiwari about his record, he responded that he had filed eight to ten PILs so far. The court then summarily dismissed the plea.
The tragedy in Chhindwara began when a number of children fell ill after being administered a cough syrup called Coldrif, manufactured by Sresan Pharma Pvt Ltd, a Tamil Nadu-based company. Within days, several developed acute renal failure, and 21 of them did not survive. Laboratory analysis later confirmed the presence of Diethylene Glycol (DEG) in the syrup -- a highly toxic industrial chemical that can cause kidney failure and death, and is strictly prohibited in pharmaceutical use. Reports of similar cases soon surfaced from Nagpur, Maharashtra, raising concerns that the contamination might be more widespread. The pharmaceutical company owner, G Ranganathan, 75, was arrested early on Thursday morning at his home in Chennai by police from the city and from Madhya Pradesh.
Tiwari’s petition called for a CBI probe into the incident, not only in Chhindwara but in similar cases reportedly emerging from other states. He urged the Supreme Court to direct that the investigation be monitored by a former judge of the top court, ensuring independence and credibility.
The plea also pressed for a nationwide recall and ban on all contaminated cough syrup batches and demands mandatory testing of every syrup-based formulation available in the market. The lawyer additionally asked the court to order compensation for the bereaved families and to establish a National Pharmacovigilance Portal that would serve as a real-time alert system for unsafe medicines.
The petition asserted the right to health and life, protected under Article 21 of the Constitution. “No medicine meant to heal should ever become an instrument of death,” Tiwari noted in his plea.
The petition also recalled that the World Health Organization (WHO) had repeatedly warned India about the risks of DEG and Ethylene Glycol contamination. Yet, according to Tiwari, no systemic reform followed.
