'Prescribed Banned Compound To Children': MP High Court Denies Bail To Doctor Booked In Coldrif Cough Syrup Death Case

The Madhya Pradesh High Court denied bail to a Doctor, booked in a case involving the deaths of several children allegedly linked to adulterated cough syrup.

The bench of Justice Pramod Kumar Agarwal observed; 

"the applicant who is the Child Specialist Doctor has prescribed the fixed dose compound to the children below the age of 4 years which was banned by the circular issued by the Government on 18.12.2023, due to which many innocent children have been died, the alleged cough syrup caused harm to the public health in a large scale". 

The bench, in February 2026, denied bail to Dr Praveen Soni, along with some pharmacists who were responsible for prescribing and selling Coldrif cough syrup to children, resulting in the death of as many as 30 children.

Per the investigation, the cough syrup 'Coldriff' allegedly contained Diethylene Glycol at dangerously high levels, far exceeding the permissible limits. This substance is known as toxic, which can cause acute kidney failure, particularly in children. Therefore, the governmnet through the circular of December 18, 2023, had banned the prescription or sale of the syrup for children under the age of 4 years. 

Senior Counsel for the applicant argued that he was a respected child specialist with over 45 years of service who was falsely implicated in this matter. The senior counsel argued that he prescribed the cough syrup in good faith, without knowledge of contamination. He further argued that he had no involvement in the manufacturing, distribution or testing of the drug.

The senior counsel for the applicant further contended that the combination of the ingredients used in the syrup was not officially banned. He further argued that the deaths were caused by adulteration of the medicine and not its prescribed composition. 

The State opposed the bail plea, stating that the doctor prescribed a fixed-dose combination drug to children under 4 years of age despite government restrictions. The State argued that there was prior knowledge within the medical community about children developing kidney issues in the region. 

The court noted that the applicant, being a pediatrician, had prescribed a drug combination, which was banned by the government for children below 4 years of age. The court further noted that the case involved large-scale harm to public health and multiple child fatalities. 

The bench further observed that the expert medical opinion indicated that the drug combination should not be administered to young children. Given these considerations, the court held that no bail was warranted. Therefore, the bench dismissed the bail application. 

Earlier, the High Court in November 2025 dismissed the appeal filed by a distributor of Coldrif cough syrup, challenging the sealing of his shop along with the cancellation of his drug license, observing the subject case to be 'the most shocking case in medical history'.