Cough syrup row: Supreme Court to take up on Friday PIL seeking court-monitored CBI probe into deaths of children

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to take up on October 10 a PIL seeking a court-monitored CBI probe into deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan allegedly due to consumption of toxic cough syrups.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai agreed to hear the PIL on Friday after petitioner advocate Vishal Tiwari mentioned it saying it needed an urgent hearing.

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Tiwari has also demanded systemic reforms in drug safety mechanisms and constitution of a National Judicial Commission or Expert Committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to identify the regulatory failures that allowed substandard medicines to reach market.

The PIL urged the top court to transfer all FIRs and investigations with regard to the deaths of children allegedly caused by toxic cough syrups across states to the CBI for a thorough probe under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge to ensure fairness and uniformity.

Separate state-level investigations have led to fragmented accountability, enabling repeated lapses that allow hazardous formulations to reach the market, he submitted.

The petition – which came amid reports of deaths of children from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after they allegedly consumed cough syrup produced by a particular company -- urged the court to mandate toxicological testing of all suspect products through NABL-accredited laboratories before any further sale or export was permitted.