The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has set up a one-member judicial commission led by former HC judge Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta to probe the alarming water contamination crisis in Indore’s Bhagirathpura locality, which has reportedly led to multiple deaths and hundreds of hospitalisations.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi passed the order late Tuesday night after hearing multiple public interest litigations (PILs) filed in the wake of suspected waterborne deaths in the area. The Court stressed the need for an independent and credible inquiry, stating that the issue involves serious implications for the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The Madhya Pradesh government admitted in court that at least 16 of 23 deaths during a recent gastroenteritis outbreak in Bhagirathpura may have been caused by consumption of contaminated drinking water. The government relied on an audit report submitted by a five-member medical committee from Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College.
However, the court expressed strong reservations about the credibility of the report, particularly objecting to the term “verbal autopsy” used by the government. “We have heard this term for the first time,” the bench remarked sarcastically, questioning the scientific basis of such a method.
The High Court observed that the number of deaths could be higher than officially recorded. While the government audit acknowledged 16 possible contamination-related deaths, petitioners and media reports claimed the toll could be around 30. The Court noted that supporting documents—medical reports, photographs, and complaints—clearly warranted “urgent judicial scrutiny.”
The Court also took note of similar illness outbreaks in Mhow, raising concerns about systemic water safety failures in the region.
In a detailed order, the Court laid down the scope of the judicial commission’s mandate, which includes:
- Establishing whether the municipal water supplied to Bhagirathpura was contaminated.
- Identifying the cause (e.g. sewage ingress, pipeline damage, industrial discharge).
- Assessing the number of actual deaths and the nature of diseases caused.
- Evaluating adequacy of the medical response and preventive action taken.
- Recommending immediate and long-term measures to ensure safe drinking water.
- Fixing accountability on officers or agencies found prima facie responsible.
- Suggesting guidelines for compensating affected persons, particularly vulnerable groups like children and the elderly.
The commission has been vested with powers of a civil court, including summoning of officials, record examination, directing water quality tests via accredited labs, and conducting site inspections.
All state departments—especially the Indore Municipal Corporation, Public Health Engineering Department, District Administration, and the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board—have been directed to fully cooperate with the commission.
The state government has been instructed to provide the necessary infrastructure, including office space, staffing, and logistics.
According to the government’s status report, 454 people were hospitalised during the recent vomiting and diarrhoea outbreak, 441 of whom have been discharged. Eleven patients remain under treatment. The contamination was reportedly caused by sewage leaking into a broken municipal drinking water pipeline near a toilet in Bhagirathpura.
The commission has been directed to submit an interim report within four weeks from the date of commencement of proceedings.
