Law Notify : The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has constituted a commission of inquiry headed by a former High Court judge to investigate the recent water contamination crisis in the city’s Bhagirathpura area, which has been linked to multiple deaths.

The court said the gravity of the situation warrants immediate judicial scrutiny and an independent, credible investigation to identify the root cause of the contamination. The commission has been directed to submit an interim report within four weeks from the start of its proceedings.

A division bench comprising Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi set up the commission while hearing a batch of public interest litigations related to deaths allegedly caused by consumption of contaminated drinking water in Bhagirathpura. After hearing all parties during the day, the High Court reserved its order and issued it late at night.

During the hearing, the state government placed an audit report before the bench detailing 23 deaths during the ongoing gastroenteritis outbreak in the area. According to the report, 16 of these deaths may be linked to vomiting and diarrhoea triggered by contaminated water.

The petitions allege that sewage mixing with drinking water, leakages in pipelines, and failure of civic authorities to ensure potable water standards led to the spread of water-borne diseases in the locality.