MP High Court Directs State To Respond On Ground Report In Balaghat Tribal Children Deaths Case

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to bring on record documents responding to a public interest litigation over the deaths of tribal children in Balaghat district, after the petitioner personally visited the affected villages and filed an affidavit detailing the conditions on the ground.

A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal was hearing a plea filed by Anshul Tiwari, a resident of Narsinghpur, based on a report published in "The Pioneer" on August 30, 2026, about the deaths of over 30 children from the Baiga and Gond tribal communities in Balaghat since May this year, reportedly due to a measles-malaria outbreak that went undetected for months in the absence of an adequate healthcare system in the remote Adivasi habitation.

When the matter first came up on September 3, the court was not willing to proceed merely on the basis of newspaper reports. It told the petitioner that if he wished to espouse the cause of the public at large, he was expected to acquire personal knowledge of the matter himself. "If the petitioner is treating himself to be public spirited person to espouse the cause of public at large, it is expected from him to get personal knowledge of this matter," the bench observed, adding that every fact and allegation raised in the PIL "cannot be believed unless, same are based on personal knowledge of the petitioner." The court directed the petitioner to visit the area where the deaths had occurred and place an affidavit on record about the ground reality, and listed the case for September 9.

The petitioner complied with the direction. He travelled to the affected villages in Balaghat and filed a fresh affidavit dated September 9, 2026, recording what he had found. According to the affidavit, handpumps in the area were supplying yellow-coloured water, children and women had not received nutritious food for months, and poor sanitation in the villages was contributing to infections among the tribal population. The affidavit also noted that authorities acted only after more than 30 deaths were reported, following which hospital beds were increased and sanitation efforts were stepped up in the area.

When the matter was taken up again on September 9, advocates Atul Kumar Shukla and Abhishek Pandey appeared for the petitioner, while advocate Vivek Sharma, Deputy Advocate General, represented the state. Recording the compliance, the bench said, "In compliance of order dated 03.09.2026, the petitioner personally visited the place and collected various information, which are reflected in his affidavit dated 09.09.2026." The court permitted the petitioner to bring these facts on record in the writ petition by way of amendment, so that the state and other respondents could be called upon to file their replies.

The bench also took note of submissions that the state had already uploaded a daily survey report on its ERP system, and directed that these documents too be placed on record along with the state's reply. The respondents in the case include the State Health Department, the Women and Child Development Department, and the Balaghat district collector, among others.

The Balaghat deaths had earlier drawn attention after reports pointed to a complete breakdown of healthcare access in the tribal belt, with around 400 children being treated at a hospital equipped with only 50 beds.

The matter will be heard next on September 18.

Case Title: Anshul Tiwari v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Others

Date of Order: September 9, 2026

Bench: Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal