Supreme Court Moved For CBI Inquiry Into MP Children’s Deaths Linked To Cough Syrup

On Tuesday, a public interest litigation has been filed before Supreme Court to seek CBI investigation into the death of children in Madhya Pradesh after allegedly consuming cough syrup.  The PIL seeks a retired Supreme Court judge-monitored probe and inquiry into the testing, regulation, manufacture and distribution of contaminated cough syrups.

The PIL seeks a National Judicial Commission or an expert committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to investigate the cases. It also seeks that all FIRs should be handed over to the CBI for investigation, as per NDTV.

A demand has also been made to make quality testing mandatory for all cough syrups.

The petitioner Vishal Tiwari has demanded that, the sale and distribution of all medicines manufactured by the accused company should be immediately banned.

He further demanded that the, Central Government and CDSCO should be ordered to conduct DEG and EG testing of all syrup-based medicines across the country.

 A “Drug Recall and Pharmacovigilance Portal” should be launched to enable real-time monitoring of contaminated or counterfeit medicines, his demand included.

He further added that, the Central Government should be directed to formulate a “National Drug Recall Policy” and a “Toxicological Safety Protocol” that will ensure mandatory safety testing of children's medicines before their release.

The petition alleges that syrups contaminated with toxic chemicals like Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Ethylene Glycol (EG) have killed innocent children in several states, including Madhya Pradesh, and this reflects a serious failure of the public health system, as per NDTV.

 The petitioner argues that despite repeated child deaths, governments are not taking concrete action, and that the matter concerns public life, Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution, and public health protection, NDTV reported.