Allahabad HC dismisses pleas seeking stay on arrests in codeine-based cough syrup case

Prayagraj, Dec 19 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Friday dismissed writ petitions that challenged the FIRs lodged in the codeine-based cough syrup case and sought a stay on arrests in the matter.

The order was passed by a two-judge bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Achal Sachdev.

The writ petitions were filed by Virendra Lal Verma and others, seeking a stay on arrest and quashing of the FIR lodged against them at Varanasi as well as at other police stations in the state.

The Uttar Pradesh government set up an SIT to probe the illegal storage and distribution of codeine-based cough syrups across the state.

The SIT, headed by an IG-rank officer and including Food and Drug Safety Authority (FDSA) officials, has been tasked with examining financial transactions, tracing the diversion of medicines, and connecting all leads emerging from the accused persons.

The Uttar Pradesh government has clarified that no casualties have been reported in the state due to the codeine-laced syrups. DGP Rajeev Krishna said earlier that the investigation has so far exposed a network of major "super-stockists" allegedly involved in diverting highly-regulated codeine-laced medicines.

Three of the five key 'super-stockists' -- Bhola Jaiswal from Varanasi, Vibhor Rana from Saharanpur, and Saurabh Tyagi from Ghaziabad -- have been arrested, and action is underway against two other accused.

So far, around 3.5 lakh bottles of cough syrup, valued at approximately Rs 4.5 crore, have been seized, and 32 people associated with the illegal trade have been taken into custody.

The probe also revealed evidence of consignments being trafficked across the India-Nepal and India-Bangladesh borders. Authorities are verifying financial transactions and money trails linked to the network, with the ED involved in parallel investigations. PTI COR RAJ NSD NSD