The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, following reports of children’s deaths allegedly caused by the consumption of contaminated cough syrup.

 

 

The Commission has also directed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and key regulatory bodies to probe the matter and take immediate preventive measures. Taking cognisance of a complaint highlighting the deaths of 12 children in Madhya Pradesh and several in Rajasthan, the NHRC stated that the allegations point to a serious failure in drug safety, regulation, and monitoring systems, potentially amounting to grave violations of human rights, particularly the right to life and health.

 

 

The Bench of the NHRC, led by Member Priyank Kanoongo, has invoked provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, and sought action on multiple fronts. The Commission has directed the Principal Secretaries of the Departments of Health and Family Welfare in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh to immediately investigate the allegations, collect and test samples of the cough syrup in question, and take urgent steps to ban the sale of spurious medicines.