Indore Water Tragedy: High Court’s Month-Long Reprieve For Probe Panel

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted one more month for the submission of a key investigation report into the Bhagirathpura contaminated water incident that reportedly claimed around 35 lives.

Hearing a batch of connected petitions, the division bench comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi noted that a one-member judicial commission, headed by retired Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, had earlier sought more time to complete its probe. On March 5, the court had granted a one-month extension after the commission submitted an interim report but cited lack of crucial records, such as water testing reports, post-mortem findings, pipeline installation data and civic complaints, as hurdles in reaching conclusions.

The High Court had then directed the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) and the Indore Development Authority to urgently provide the pending documents, stressing that the final findings depended on these records. The matter was scheduled for April 6.

However, when the case came up again on Monday, the bench found that no progress report had been filed by the commission despite the extended deadline. Taking note of the lapse, the court has now directed the commission to submit its latest status report before the next hearing on April 22.

During the proceedings, senior counsel appearing for the petitioners also flagged a new public health concern regarding contaminated water in Sai Kripa Colony. The issue reportedly came to light through recent sampling results published in a local newspaper.

Responding to this, the court directed the IMC to immediately take cognisance of the situation and implement corrective measures. The civic body has been specifically instructed to ensure the supply of clean drinking water and adopt steps similar to those undertaken in the Bhagirathpura case.