The Telangana High Court, issued a directive requiring the state government to furnish a progress report on the investigation into the fatal Sigachi Industries reactor explosion. The incident, which occurred at Pasmailaram in the Patancheru mandal of Sangareddy district, resulted in 54 deaths.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin, sought clarification on whether any arrests had been made based on witness statements and demanded an explanation of the findings detailed in the expert committee’s report. Furthermore, the bench instructed the government to submit a comprehensive list detailing the compensation paid out to date to the victims’ families and the injured, as had been previously announced.
The court adjourned the hearing until November 27, ordering the management of Sigachi Industries to file a counter-affidavit.
The bench was considering a public interest litigation (PIL) brought by Hyderabad-based petitioner K Baburao, who is seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and alleging delays in both the investigation and the disbursement of compensation. The petitioner's counsel, advocate Vasudha Nagaraj, contended that no arrests had been made even four months after the explosion, and that the compensation promised by both the government and the company had yet to reach several victims.
Additional Advocate General Thera Rajanikant Reddy informed the court that the investigation was proceeding, with statements from 192 witnesses already recorded. When the bench pointed out that the company's vice-president had also died in the blast and asked whether this excused other responsible officials from accountability, the AAG responded that the factory premises had been taken over by the Labour Department.
Responding to the court’s enquiries on compensation, the AAG said that the management had released ₹40 lakh to the family of each deceased worker so far, and ₹25 lakh for each of the missing workers, against their earlier assurance of ₹1 crore per fatality.
Following the arguments, the bench instructed the relevant authorities to present a comprehensive report covering all investigation details, witness testimonies, and the current status of compensation payments ahead of the next scheduled hearing.
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