The matter has been handed over to the CBI, which is also probing another case related to the hospital. In its complaint, PUCL said that the hospital authorities were ``consciously and deceitfully using expired and contaminated drugs and devices''. The hospital authorities have allegedly been doing this for several years resulting in a ``grossly inflated number of fatal and non-fatal hospital-acquired infections''.

According to the medical records department, there have been a large number of deaths caused by septicemia, of which PUCL has prepared a partial list. The doctors connected to these cases did not document the fact that it was a hospital-acquiredinfection, says the complainant.

PUCL has alleged that there were purchase irregularities of Rs 86 crore in 1988 and in order to cover this up, the then director, Dr Khalilullah, ``deliberately'' allowed the medicines to rot in the store.

Once taken as date-expired items in the store, the expensive drugs were termed slow-moving items. Meanwhile, the hospital administration forced the consumer departments to use these medicines on their patients, alleges PUCL.

The head of cardiac surgery wrote to the hospital director in August 1997 to dispose the medicines through incineration as it was ``extremely dangerous to re-sterilise and use'' them on patients. The director allegedly ignored this appeal. All this amounts to offences under provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.