Indore water contamination: MP HC sets up probe panel, calls for urgent judicial scrutiny

Madhya Pradesh High Court establishes a probe panel to investigate water contamination linked to deaths in Indore's Bhagirathpura.

The Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has set up a commission comprising a former HC Judge to conduct a probe into the issue of water contamination in the city’s Bhagirathpura, saying the matter requires probe by an independent, credible authority and “urgent judicial scrutiny”. It also directed the panel to submit an interim report after four weeks from the date of commencement of proceedings.

A division Bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi constituted the commission on Tuesday (January 27, 2026) while hearing several Public Interest Litigations (PILs) filed simultaneously over the deaths of several people in Bhagirathpura due to the consumption of contaminated water. The HC reserved the order after hearing all the parties during the day and released it late at night. The State government on Tuesday (January 27, 2026) told the HC that the deaths of 16 persons in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area were possibly linked to a month-long outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.

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The government presented before the bench an audit report of 23 deaths from the current gastroenteritis epidemic in Bhagirathpura, suggesting that 16 of these fatalities may have been linked to the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water. The report, prepared by a committee of five experts from the city’s Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, stated that the deaths of four persons in Bhagirathpura were unrelated to the outbreak, while no conclusion could be reached regarding the cause of death of three other people in the area.

During the hearing, the High Court sought to know from the State government the scientific basis behind its report. The Bench also expressed surprise at the State government’s use of the term “verbal autopsy” in relation to the report, sarcastically stating that it had heard the term for the first time.The HC expressed concern over the Bhagirathpura case, stating that the situation was “alarming,” and noted that cases of people falling ill due to contaminated drinking water have also been reported in Mhow, near Indore. In its order, the HC said the serious issue concerning contamination of the drinking water supply in the Bhagirathpura area allegedly resulted in widespread health hazards to residents, including children and elderly persons.

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