High Court cracks down on Indore water tragedy

State govt pulled up for ‘Insensitive’ response

Chief Secretary summoned on Jan 15 in Bhagirathpura tragedy

K K Jha
Indore/Jabalpur: The Madhya Pradesh High Court has come down heavily on the state government over deaths and mass illness allegedly caused by contaminated drinking water in Indore, describing the official response as “insensitive and superficial.” Taking serious note of the gravity of the situation, the court has directed the Chief Secretary to appear personally via video conferencing on January 15.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi is hearing a set of public interest litigations related to the deaths of several residents and the illness of hundreds of others in Bhagirathpura and adjoining localities, reportedly after consuming contaminated water.
During the hearing, the High Court expressed strong dissatisfaction with the status report submitted by the state government and the local administration, terming it incomplete, vague, and insensitive to the suffering of affected families. The Bench observed that the report failed to clearly disclose the actual number of deaths and did not adequately explain the relief or compensation provided to the victims so far.
The court also remarked that such a waterborne tragedy in Indore—consistently ranked as India’s cleanest city—exposes serious administrative failures and dents the city’s national and international reputation. The judges noted that impressive cleanliness rankings cannot mask systemic lapses in public health governance.
Raising serious concerns over discrepancies in official data, the High Court pointed out that government records show a significantly lower number of fatalities, while local claims suggest a much higher death toll. The Bench indicated that the matter may go beyond administrative negligence and could involve an examination of the criminal liability of responsible officials.
The High Court has asked the state government to place on record, before the next hearing. The verified number of deaths and illnesses linked to contaminated water The status of relief and compensation extended to affected families

A concrete, time-bound action plan to prevent recurrence of such incidents. The Bench made it clear that the tragedy cannot be brushed aside as a mere “accident” and that fixing accountability in matters of public health is non-negotiable.