Too serious to warrant his release: Supreme Court denies bail to paediatrician in coldrif deaths case

New Delhi: A paediatrician accused of prescribing Coldrif cough syrup allegedly linked to the deaths of 26 children in Madhya Pradesh has been denied bail by the Supreme Court, which observed that the seriousness of the case did not warrant his release at this stage. 

According to the news reports, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana declined to entertain the paediatrician’s bail plea, noting that charges had been framed against him only recently. The bench also pointed out that the stockist involved in the case was a relative of the doctor, indicating alleged possible connections that required examination.

Also Read:MP Cough Syrup Deaths Case: HC denies bail to paediatrician

“This is not a case of bail. You will have to wait. Charges have been framed just recently. And the stockist happens to be your relative. There are some connections,” the bench told senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for the paediatrician.

Seeking relief for his client, Dave argued that the paediatrician had merely prescribed the medicine and was neither its manufacturer nor involved in its production. However, the bench emphasised the seriousness of the allegations, particularly considering that the accused was a qualified medical practitioner.

“Children died...it is very serious. Twenty-six children died. The fact that you are a qualified doctor is all the more serious,” the judges observed.

The court further observed that unless the prosecution was unable to establish the requisite knowledge on the paediatrician’s part, the case could attract a punishment of life imprisonment. “Unless you can prove absence of requisite knowledge, it is a case of life imprisonment,” said the court, before dismissing the petition. The court, however, permitted the paediatrician to renew his bail plea after a year, Hindustan Times reported.

The paediatrician was posted at the Civil Hospital in Parasia in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district. He was arrested on October 5, 2025, following a complaint lodged by Block Medical Officer Dr Ankit Sehlam.

He has been charged under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 105, which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, along with provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

The first death allegedly linked to Coldrif cough syrup was reported in Chhindwara on September 4, 2025. According to the prosecution, the medicine continued to be prescribed even after cases of illness and deaths began emerging.

Investigations subsequently revealed dangerously high concentrations of diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic industrial solvent, in samples of the syrup.

Laboratory reports cited by the prosecution reportedly detected DEG concentrations of up to 46.28% by weight, against the permissible limit of 0.1%.

DEG is an industrial chemical used in products such as brake fluid and antifreeze. Its ingestion can cause acute kidney injury and potentially fatal kidney failure, with young children being particularly vulnerable.

According to the prosecution, children aged between two and four years were prescribed the syrup. They subsequently developed acute kidney injuries and were referred to a medical college hospital in Nagpur, where several of them died.

The prosecution has also levelled allegations against the paediatrician’s wife, who was working at a medical store, a pharmacy owned by her husband and situated next to his clinic. Investigators alleged that she sold the cough syrup without prescriptions.

The prosecution further claimed that he received a 10 per cent commission on every bottle prescribed, while the pharmacy earned a profit of Rs 23 per bottle. These allegations have been cited as evidence of an alleged arrangement between the couple to prescribe and sell the medicine.

The state has claimed that the paediatrician continued prescribing the cough syrup despite a December 18, 2023, circular issued by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), which prohibited fixed-dose combination cough syrups for children below four years of age.

The prosecution has also alleged that a paediatrician had previously been cautioned by a senior paediatrician in Nagpur about a similar tragedy involving diethylene glycol-contaminated cough syrup in Delhi in 1998.

The paediatrician’s defence has maintained that he was neither the manufacturer nor involved in the production of the syrup, which was manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals Ltd under a valid licence. His counsel also argued that the medicine had not been banned when it was prescribed and relied on the Supreme Court’s 2005 judgment in Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab, which laid down safeguards against criminal prosecution of medical practitioners without appropriate expert opinion, reports Hindustan Times.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court had also rejected his second bail application on June 30, 2026. It observed that there had been no substantial change in circumstances since his first bail application was dismissed on February 17, apart from the additional period he had spent in custody.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that, in a significant development in the alleged cough syrup deaths case linked to the deaths of several children, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has denied bail to a paediatrician accused of prescribing a banned fixed-dose combination cough syrup to children below the age of four.

The high court had declined relief despite his contention that the trial would take considerable time.

Also Read:No relief for paediatrician accused in coldrif cough syrup deaths case