The Karnataka government has initiated legal action against Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals, a Bengal-based company, over allegations of manufacturing and supplying substandard IV fluids to the state. Prosecution proceedings have begun in the Judicial Magistrate of First Class courts in five districts, including Bengaluru.
Over the weekend, Assistant Drugs Controllers (ADCs) from Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts filed three complaints each, while ADCs from Bengaluru Circle-4, Haveri, and Gadag filed one complaint each. This follows Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s November 30 directive for legal action after Ringer’s Lactate IV solution batches supplied to Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (KSMSCL) were linked to complications in five women undergoing caesarean deliveries at Ballari district hospital, resulting in their deaths.
Out of 192 supplied batches, 81 were tested, with 23 batches identified as not of standard quality (NSQ). Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals has contested the findings, sending samples to the Central Drug Laboratory in Kolkata, which cleared four batches as standard quality, while nine reports are awaited. Legal cases now focus on nine batches previously deemed NSQ.
The Health Department has issued notices to NABL-accredited laboratories in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, questioning their earlier reports of standard quality for some batches. Principal Secretary Harsh Gupta stated that investigations are ongoing to ascertain if all maternal deaths reported in the state are linked to the IV solution.
A special committee, comprising experts from Vani Vilas Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, will analyze all maternal deaths reported this year.
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