New Delhi: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan due to consumption of contaminated cough syrup.

The petition, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, requests the court to constitute a National Judicial Commission or expert committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to investigate the manufacture, regulation, testing, and distribution of contaminated cough syrups containing toxic substances like Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Ethylene Glycol (EG).

The PIL highlights the need for a thorough and impartial investigation and underlines the existence of fragmented accountability due to multiple state-level inquiries. It seeks the transfer of all pending FIRs related to child deaths due to poisonous cough syrups in various states to the CBI, under the supervision of a former Supreme Court judge.

Additionally, the petition requests the court to direct the Centre to conduct nationwide mandatory testing of all syrup-based pharmaceutical formulations for the presence of DEG and EG, and to publish the results in the public domain for transparency and public safety.

Also read: Centre Does U-Turn, Confirms Toxic Chemical DEG in Coldrif Cough Syrup

The contaminated cough syrup, Coldrif, manufactured by Sresan Pharma Pvt. Ltd., a Tamil Nadu-based company, has been linked to the deaths of several children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The petition seeks immediate recall, seizure, and prohibition of the sale and distribution of all batches of the syrup, pending toxicological clearance and verification of safety standards by independent laboratories.

Moreover, it requests the court to direct the Centre to suspend or cancel the manufacturing licenses of pharmaceutical companies found involved in producing or distributing contaminated medicines and to initiate criminal prosecution against those responsible.

Questioning how poisonous drugs are manufactured in India, retired IAS officer Shailaja Chandra said in a post on X, "Why does India allow substandard, adulterated, misbranded drugs and now - poisonous drugs to be manufactured ? The states that gave the license and failed to exercise quality control are as responsible. But an investigation will become political unless an independent body is set up by the Supreme Court orders which orders an investigation."

Further, Chandra suggested that the government needs to "bring a law mandating central approval for drugs manufactured and sold in interstate commerce".

"When I looked after Drugs among my responsibilities in @MoHFW_INDIA [Ministry of Health], the then Drugs Controllers had repeatedly advised that the Government needed to bring a law mandating central approval for drugs manufactured and sold in interstate commerce. Meaning, no state manufacturing drugs which are sold in another state can grant a license without central approval. Most Health Ministers ( then) refused to touch the proposal. But the Chindwara children’s deaths demands revisiting the idea. It warrants bringing an ordinance," Chandra added.

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