Cough Syrup Deaths
SC agrees to hear plea for probe into deaths from consuming cough syrup
This story was originally published at 12:59 IST on 9 October 2025
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NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a public interest litigation seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and other states allegedly due to consumption of a cough syrup. The petitioner, advocate Vishal Tiwari, mentioned the case before a bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai for urgent listing. Agreeing to Tiwari's request, the court listed the case for hearing on Friday.
Tiwari has sought the transfer of all pending first information reports relating to these deaths from all states to the Central Bureau of Investigation. He has sought the apex court's directions to the government to constitute a National Judicial Commission or an expert committee, headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, to conduct a comprehensive enquiry into the manufacture, regulation, testing and distribution of contaminated cough syrups containing diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. The petitioner has sought measures from the committee for the safety and standards of medicines.
He has also sopught that the top court order the government to immediately recall, seize and prohibit the sale and distribution of all batches of Coldrif cough syrup, manufactured by Sresan Pharma Pvt. Ltd., Kancheepuram, in Tamil Nadu, or any related companies pending toxicology clearance and verification of safety standards by independent laboratories.
The case pertains to at least 20 children dying of kidney failure after consuming a cough syrup branded Coldrif. The syrup contained the toxin diethylene glycol in quantities nearly 500 times the permissible limit. Diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol was also found in Indian-made cough syrups that had killed at least 141 children in Gambia, Uzbekistan, and Cameroon since 2022, and another 12 children in India in 2019. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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