Cough Syrup Deaths Case: Madhya Pradesh HC defers bail plea of paediatrician

Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday postponed the hearing of the bail plea of a paediatrician accused in connection with the tragic deaths of 24 children, allegedly caused by consumption of a now-banned toxic cough syrup in Chhindwara and Betul districts, due to lack of time.

The accused physician from Chhindwara, Dr Praveen Soni, who prescribed the contaminated cough syrup 'Coldrif' to most of the ailing kids, has been arrested for alleged negligence in connection with the child deaths.

Soni's bail plea was listed before a single bench of Justice Pramod Kumar Agrawal, but it could not be taken up for hearing due to a lack of time, his counsel Pawan Shukla informed, reports PTI.

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It is likely to be heard on Friday, Shukla told PTI.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that, noting that substantial material indicates a serious offence, the Chhindwara Court has rejected the bail application of the arrested paediatrician, who prescribed Coldrif cough syrup to children, which is allegedly linked to their deaths due to kidney failure.

Considering the facts, circumstances, and seriousness of the offence, Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Kumar Gujre observed, "On perusal of the available evidence, the court noted that substantial material indicates a serious offence. According to the FIR and supporting documents, other persons, including distributors and company representatives, were aware that the medicine Coldrif—which could cause a child’s death—was being manufactured and sold, yet it was still distributed and prescribed.

As per officials, 22 children in Chhindwara and two in Betul died after consuming the Coldrif cough syrup manufactured by a private pharmaceutical firm whose owner was arrested from Tamil Nadu last week.

Most of the deceased children, under the age of five, had been prescribed the syrup by Dr Soni. The children died due to suspected kidney failure following the consumption of the adulterated cough syrup.

Madhya Pradesh authorities revealed that one sample of Coldrif had 48.6 per cent of diethylene glycol, a toxic substance found in industrial solvents, far exceeding the 0.1% permissible limit.

Following the deaths, the Parasia police in Chhindwara district registered a case against the syrup's manufacturer, Sresan Pharma, its owner, G Ranganathan, Soni, and others under relevant sections of the BNS.

Dr Soni approached the HC after the district court rejected his bail plea, which cited the serious nature of the case.

He argued that police arrested him without obtaining prior permission from the medical board, a necessary requirement for action against a registered doctor.

The physician maintained he had prescribed the syrup in good faith and pointed out he was neither involved in the medicine's production nor its sale.

The doctor contended that the licence to manufacture and market the cough syrup had been issued to the company by competent government authorities.

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