Overview

• Advocate Vishal Tiwari’s PIL asks the Supreme Court to constitute a judicial or expert commission, transfer all FIRs to the CBI, mandate pre‑distribution testing, and order immediate recall and NABL verification of suspect syrups.
• State drug laboratories in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh declared Coldrif batch SR‑13 “not of standard quality,” reporting roughly 46% diethylene glycol, a toxic solvent linked to acute kidney failure.
• Madhya Pradesh moved to ban and seize two additional syrups, ReLife and Respifresh TR, after detecting DEG above permissible limits, with Gujarat authorities also initiating action against the manufacturers.
• More states issued prohibitions or advisories on Coldrif, including Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry, while national guidance urged restraint in prescribing cough medicines for young children.
• Administrative and criminal steps are underway in Madhya Pradesh, including suspensions and a transfer of the state drug controller, a Special Investigation Team, FIRs against the manufacturer, and the arrest of a paediatrician, as local reports place the death toll at least at 14.