In one of Madhya Pradesh's most disturbing medical tragedies, the High Court has rejected the bail pleas of four accused, including the main accused, Dr Praveen Soni, in the Chhindwara poisonous cough syrup case that claimed the lives of 26 children.
The decision came after a tense hearing on Tuesday, where the court observed that the gravity of the incident was too serious to grant any relief. With this order, all four accused will remain behind bars.
The High Court, while rejecting bail, made sharp observations about the conduct of the accused doctor. According to the court order, Soni allegedly ignored clear government guidelines and administered a banned fixed-dose combination cough syrup to children under the age of four, a category for which the medicine is strictly prohibited.
The court noted that this reckless prescription directly led to kidney failure and deaths among the children.
The accused has been lodged in Chhindwara jail since his arrest on October 5, 2025.
During the hearing, it also emerged that a senior doctor from Nagpur had warned Soni not to administer the medicine.
Government advocate, C K Tiwari, said, "Dr Praveen Soni's bail application was heard and rejected by the Honorable Court. The important point is that there is a central government rule that the medicine can be given according to a fixed dose combination, but Soni did not follow the dosage of the fixed dose combination medicine, which cannot be given to children under 4 years of age. And the medicine given to the children was for a serious disease, due to which the children died, and their kidneys were damaged. The Court also found that a senior doctor from Nagpur had advised that you should not give this medicine because the kidneys of the children are failing due to this and they are not able to urinate, but the doctor ignored that suggestion as well."
The advocate further noted, "He was also aware that children died in Delhi due to the same medicine. This was a serious incident. The Court found that due to the greed of the commission that Soni used to get from selling the medicine, he created this situation due to which the children died."
The case relates to the deaths of 26 children after consuming a poisonous cough syrup in Chhindwara. The children reportedly suffered kidney failure and severe complications after being administered the drug.
A lower court had sent Soni to judicial custody, following which a bail plea was filed in the High Court. The court had earlier reserved its decision, which has now been delivered.
