Maternal deaths: HC rejects pharma official's bail plea

The Rajasthan high court on Monday rejected the bail plea of a senior official of Indore-based Parenteral Surgicals Limited, which supplied contaminated intravenous (IV) fluid that led to 17 maternal deaths in two government hospitals in Jodhpur.

Justice Kailash Chandra Joshi rejected the bail application of Sanjay Shah, the production manager and quality controller of the company, on the basis of a forensic report that found one batch of IV fluid contaminated.

The contaminated fluid failed the bacterial endotoxin and sterility test, and was declared unfit for human administration.

"Given that a police probe in the case is pending, the court observed that it would not be justifiable to grant bail to Shah," additional advocate general Anand Purohit said.

Purohit also raised questions on the qualification of Shah for the post in which he was working in the company. He argued that Shah, a commerce graduate, was not eligible for the job. Before joining the medical company, Shah worked as a sales manager in a hosiery company, Purohit told the court.

"It is evident that the administration of the contaminated IV fluid of batch 0077 had caused the death of 17 women in a month," Purohit said.

Shah was arrested from Indore and lodged in Jodhpur jail following his interrogation in connection with the case.