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The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday, September 22, disposed of a public interest litigation seeking a probe into spurious liquor deaths in Sagar district. [2026 LiveLaw (MP) 383]

Noting that the State has already constituted a Commission headed by retired Judge of High Court and initiated action against the accused persons, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Alpesh Yeshvant Kogje with Justice Vivek Jain disposed of the petition

"At present, the court, having been satisfied with the steps taken by the State, is not inclined to proceed any further in the matter. However, we allow the petitioner to represent his grievance before the commission as an independent person, interested in resolving the issue once and for all. We hence, dispose of this petition". 

Background

Per a Bhaskar English news report, around 36 deaths occurred in Bunda and Shahgarh in Sagar District. FIRs have been filed against 33 people in two police stations, and about 19 people have been arrested. Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav also directed the Police and Administration to take strict action against the accused. 

The petition, relying on a news report of September 7, 2026, by Dainik Bhaskar, claimed that the Excise authorities had given a clean chit to the particular brand of liquor responsible for the deaths, just one day prior to the incident. Thus, the petition raised suspicions over the inspection, sampling, verification and clearance process of the liquor.

The petition noted that complaints regarding counterfeit liquor were received in August 2026, wherein it was specifically reported that counterfeit liquor was being sold under brand names "Bombay" and "Sagar Gold", but no action was taken.

The petition also referred to similar incidents occurring since 2020 in different districts, asserting that there needs to be a broader examination of existing regulatory, preventive and enforcement mechanisms governing the manufacturing, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of liquor. 

Hearing

The counsel for the petitioner appeared before the bench today, stating that, per the news reports, 39 people have died, whereas the State claims that only 20 people have died. 

The counsel for the State argued that it was an "unfortunate incident". He further informed the court that "immediately the honourable Chief Minister visited the area and immediately a judicial inquiry commission headed by the retired Judge of the High Court was constituted". 

The State submitted a report to the Court listing the measures which have been undertaken. The State further submitted that compensation was awarded to the families of deceased persons and also to those who are suffering ailments in hospitals. 

The State further highlighted that a notification was passed which granted three months' time to the Committee to submit the report. 

The bench noted September 12, 2026 as the date of said notification. 

The State also referred to the Boat Capsizing incident, noting that the Bench had allowed withdrawal of the petition after observing that judicial inquiry was constituted and the matter was being investigated. The State thus prayed for disposal of the present petition, claiming that all the prayers in the petition are already taken. 

The counsel for the petitioner opposed the State's prayer, arguing that a number of facets of the incident are not being investigated. Thus, the bench granted liberty to the petitioner to appear before the Commission and present submissions. 

Thus, the court ordered

"An unfortunate incident which took place as a result of which several deaths occurred, and medical ailments were caused on account of consumption of spurious liquor, and the matter was called out. Learned Senior Counsel appeared before the court on behalf of the State and has placed a report on the incident of poisonous and illicit liquor in Sagar District. The court, therefore, finds that action has been taken immediately in so far as the grant of compensation and the formation of an inquiry commission under the chairmanship of a retired High Court Judge, with the time span for completing the exercise. Essentially, the prayer prayed for stands answered on the basis of the report submitted. Over and above, learned counsel has also raised an anxiety that steps are also required to be taken so as to prevent future occurrence of this nature, which should be brought to the notice and ambit of the commission appointed for the purpose". 

Case Title: Vaibhav Singh v State of Madhya Pradesh, WRIT PETITION (WP) 37587/2026

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (MP) 383

For Petitioner: Advocates Gaurav Singh Thakur, Udaynand Pandey, Siddharth Shrivastava and Prabhat Kumar Shrivastava

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