Bombay High Court Questions Persistent Drinking Water Crisis in Maharashtra

NDTV | June 23, 2026 | 10:59 PM IST | Breaking News, Courts & Law, India | Follow on Google News

Bombay High Court Questions Persistent Drinking Water Crisis in Maharashtra

Delivering a sharp reminder of the State’s constitutional obligations, the Bombay High Court has held that access to clean and potable drinking water is a fundamental right and questioned why citizens in Maharashtra continue to approach courts for such a basic necessity even after 75 years of Independence.

A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata made the observations while hearing a long-running set of public interest litigations concerning conditions in the tribal Melghat region of Amravati district. The petitions, pending since 2007, raise issues ranging from malnutrition and healthcare shortages to the lack of access to safe drinking water.

The court expressed concern after being informed that several villages in Melghat were facing an acute shortage of potable water despite the onset of summer and repeated judicial interventions over the years. Petitioners told the court that many areas had not received water supplies for days and that tanker services remained irregular.

Questioning the government’s response, the bench observed that a progressive state such as Maharashtra could not justify its inability to provide drinking water to its citizens.

“After 75 years of independence, people of India have to approach the court for drinking water?” Justice Gadkari remarked during the hearing.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by VoM News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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