The Telangana High Court Thursday sought detailed affidavits from respective departments in three weeks regarding the explosion at Sigachi factory in Sangareddy district last month.
The division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin gave the direction while dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought a speedy investigation into the cause of the accident and the grant of compensation, among others, to the victims’ kin. Forty-eight people died and eight people are missing since the Sigachi factory explosion.
The bench stated that the affidavits should contain maximum details regarding the accident, steps taken so far, findings of committees, compensation paid so far, etc, while also stressing the need to mention the specific industrial and environmental laws that are applicable in the case.
The petitioner contended that there have been no arrests in the case so far, compensation amounts have not been paid to the victims’ kin, and that the investigation was not moving forward. The petition also sought that the case be transferred to a special investigation team (SIT) and that the reports furnished by the high-powered committees be released. The counsel for the petitioner pointed out that in a similar industrial accident in Andhra Pradesh on August 24, 2024, the state stood by the 16 deceased workers and made sure that the company paid Rs 1 crore compensation to their kin the very next day itself.
After hearing the points raised by the petitioner’s counsel, the Chief Justice observed that the court was more worried about the actions that need to be taken and, therefore, needed to know from the departments impleaded in the case what action was being taken in “a tragedy of such a magnitude”.
The counsel representing the state said the government appointed a six-member committee headed by the Chief Secretary on the same day of the accident. While the preliminary report was submitted, the state was awaiting the final inquiry report. The state government has also constituted an expert committee, whose findings are also awaited. The counsel added that 29 families of the deceased workers have been paid Rs 25 lakh each by the company, and the rest of the families were being paid the compensation amount today (Thursday). He also said that the state was giving Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh to the injured.
Asked by the Chief Justice (CJ) if anyone has been apprehended so far in the case, the counsel replied in the negative. Responding to another question from the CJ, the counsel said only 11 workers were covered under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, and the rest were covered under the Employees’ Compensation Act. The CJ then wanted to know the relevant laws and if action had been initiated against those responsible under each of the laws or not.
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“The experience is that, in such cases, when detected due to some unfortunate incidents, it comes to light that the factory is showing only 10-20 workers, which is the minimum requirement of taking a license or showing it to the ESIC or provident fund authorities. But, actually, they are engaging many more poor people who don’t know their entitlements under different industrial laws. So, this is the larger issue required to be regulated by the agencies,” the CJ observed.
He then said, “It does not happen suddenly overnight. It is because of lapses at different levels in the (regulatory) regime that these incidents happen. So, the outlook when we entertain such PILs is not only to find out the real cause and ensure that the law takes its own course, but to ensure that the regulatory regime under the different laws are actually enforced in respect of other such industries/factories operating within the state, in particular.
“This is a wake-up call. The scale of which is quite huge. That day, we were seeing in the news that every hour the count was going up. I didn’t know I would have to deal with the PIL here. The agony is of all of us. As officers of the court and also representing the respective departments or boards. it is the duty of all of us to ensure that not only is action taken as per law, but also the regulatory regime becomes more strengthened. Then only it will happen.”
