Judicial panel blames institutional failure for Indore water contamination deaths; says tragedy was preventable

The Judicial Commission formed to probe the death of more than 30 people due to water contamination in Indore has said the tragedy was preventable while blaming institutional failure, systematic lapses and delays in replacing the ageing infrastructure. 

The one-member panel of former Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Sushil Kumar Gupta, who submitted his August 18 report to the Indore Bench of the High Court, flags delays of “approximately 859+ days” in inviting important tenders, necessary approvals and completion of work in Bhagirathpura, the hotspot of the tragedy. The probe report has held the then Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) Additional Commissioner (water supply) Rohit Sisonia and then executive engineer (water supply) Sanjeev Shrivastava “primarily responsible” for several delays. 

Between December 2025 and February 2026, more than 100 people suffered from ailments such as acute gastroenteritis, acute diarrhoea, vomiting, and severe dehydration after consuming contaminated water by the IMC. The tragedy claimed more than 30 lives, denting the image of Indore, which has been awarded India’s cleanest city for eight consecutive years. 

The report, however, links only 22 deaths to the tragedy citing hospital records.

72-day delay

The report flags a 72-day delay in the tender process, to replace the damaged water pipeline, between October 15 and December 26, 2025, just days before the tragedy struck, among Mr. Sisonia and Mr. Shrivastava after the former wrote just one word “Discuss” on a file. 

“This constitutes the principal and abnormal delay in the entire tender process. Once the Additional Commissioner recorded ‘Discuss,’ it was expected that: clarifications would be prepared promptly, objections would be resolved, and the file would be re-submitted without undue delay. Instead, the file remained pending for about 72 days,” the report notes. 

The report, however, gives a clean chit to two IAS officers and former IMC Commissioners — Dilip Kumar Yadav, who was appointed in September 2025 and removed amid the tragedy, and his predecessor Shivam Verma, who has been the Indore District Collector since September 2025. It said the competent authority to accord final approval to the tender, which was within his financial limit, was Mr. Sisonia.