Death of infants in Ramnagar due to spurious cough syrup
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Nov 11: Giving major relief to the victim families, the Supreme Court of India today dismissed an appeal filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Government against an order of the National Human rights Commission (NHRC) to pay compensation of Rs 3 lakh each to the kin of 12 children who died in Ramnagar area of Udhampur district due to consumption of spurious cough syrup around three years ago.
Even as the Government had released the compensation last year after a Division Bench of the J&K High Court had dismissed its plea against the NHRC order, the amount was given to the victim families with a rider subject to outcome of the Special Leave Petition filed in the Supreme Court, which was decided today.
A bench of Justice M R Shah and Justice M M Sundresh said that officers of J&K Government were found to be negligent and it does find any reason to interfere in the matter.
“Your officers are found to be negligent. They ought to have been vigilant. Don’t compel us to say things about food and industry department. The health of citizens is in their hands. They don’t perform duties at all. They can’t play with the lives of citizens. It is their duty to check and verify things,” the bench observed while hearing the SLP filed by J&K administration challenging the March 3, 2021, order of the High Court which had dismissed its plea against the NHRC order.
It may be recalled that 12 children had died in Ramnagar tehsil in December 2019 and January 2020 due to consumption of spurious cough syrup. Taking cognizance of a complaint in this regard by social activist Sukesh Khajuria, the NHRC found procedural lapses on the part of the Drugs Department and on January 18, 2021 recommended compensation of Rs 3 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased children.
Urging the High Court to quash the NHRC order on compensation and all proceedings in relations thereto, the UT Government filed a writ petition, which was dismissed by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mittal and Justice Sindhu Sharma on March 2, 2021 following which a SLP was filed by the Government in the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, on May 6, 2021, NHRC sought compliance report along with proof of payment from the Government within six weeks positively and warned to use coercive power of the Commission calling for personal appearance of the authority concerned in case of failure to adhere to the direction.
Pursuant to the NHRC direction and following approval by the Administrative Council headed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha in its meeting held on October 7, 2021, the Health and Medical Education Department vide order number 711-JK(HME) of 2021, dated 16-11-2021, ordered release of the compensation amount to the State Drug Controller for further payment as a special and exceptional infant mortality case subject to the outcome of the SLP pending before the Supreme Court of India, which was decided today.
The complaint regarding the deaths of the infants due to consumption of spurious drugs was lodged before the NHRC by Jammu-based social activist Sukesh Khajuria, who told the Excelsior that the case is a landmark in the history of judicial activism where the Government has been ordered to pay compensation for the utter neglect and alleged callous connivance of the State drug authorities in checking the sale of spurious drugs.
At least 12 children, aged between one and four years, had died in different areas of the Ramnagar Tehsil between December 2019 and January 2020 after they had consumed spurious drugs supplied in the area by a Himachal Pradesh-based company. A team of experts, deployed by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, had visited the area in January 2020 to investigate the pediatric deaths and confirmed the presence of a deadly compound in the syrup that the parents had bought from a local chemist to treat their children suffering from cough and cold.
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