HC dismisses pleas of pharma firm on cough syrup testing

A dozen children were killed in Udhampur district of Jammu by drinking the cough syrup

Shimla The Himachal Pradesh high court has dismissed the petitions of Kala Amb-based Digital Vision pharma company and its partner Parshottam Lal Goyal in connection with the failure of samples of cough and cold medicine named Coldbest PC cough syrup.

The petitioners had challenged this year’s orders of Sirmaur chief judicial magistrate of March 11 and May 2 in the court. (Getty Images)

A dozen children were killed in Udhampur district of Jammu by drinking the cough syrup. According to Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, these children died due to a substance called ethylene glycol, a dye present in the cough syrup.

The petitioners had challenged this year’s orders of Sirmaur chief judicial magistrate (CJM) of March 11 and May 2 in the court. In this case, the CJM allowed the drug inspector to take additional samples of the seized syrup. According to the drug inspector’s application, the government analyst found that the dye found in the drug was not sufficient for ethylene glycol testing. Therefore, the court was requested to allow taking of additional samples.

The magistrate also rejected the objections of the applicants, who pleaded not to send 20 bottles of samples taken on March 11 for testing, but wanted only four bottles, taken on February 26, for testing.

Although the magistrate allowed only four bottles to be opened for examination, he also made it clear that if the sample was inadequate, another 20 bottles will be tested. The applicants had challenged these orders in the high court through two separate petitions, which justice Vivek Singh Thakur has dismissed.