HC directs legal aid for families of Sigachi factory blast victims
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday intervened decisively in the case concerning compensation for the families of workers killed in the catastrophic Sigachi factory blast, impleading three crucial statutory authorities as respondents while directing comprehensive legal assistance for the bereaved families.
The division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Ghouse Meera Mohiuddin added the Regional Commissioner of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation in Hyderabad, Regional Director of the Employees State Insurance Corporation and Controller of Drugs and Cosmetics as the 11th, 12th and 13th respondents respectively to the PIL.
This strategic implead aims to enable the families and eight missing persons, now declared dead, to approach these statutory authorities directly and claim the financial benefits they are entitled to receive under applicable regulations.
The court issued explicit directions to the Member-Secretary, State Legal Services Authority at the HC and the District Legal Services Authority in Sangareddy to extend comprehensive legal assistance to the families. This support mechanism is designed to facilitate their access to compensation and other statutory benefits available from various government and quasi-government bodies.
The case was posted for hearing on March 12, signalling the court’s continued monitoring of the implementation of relief measures for the families.
Domnic Fernandis, serving as Amicus Curiae after being appointed by the HC to assist in adjudicating the PIL, provided the bench with detailed information regarding the criminal proceedings initiated in connection with the industrial disaster.
He informed the court that two FIRs have been registered in the case; the first FIR numbered 199 of 2025 filed against the factory management. Under this FIR, the MD and other senior officials were arrested and remanded to judicial custody. The investigating authorities have since filed a chargesheet against the accused.
The second FIR pertains to the eight missing persons whose bodies became unrecognisable due to the intensity of the blast and subsequent fire, necessitating their formal declaration as dead. The police were compelled to register this separate FIR and subsequently close it after confirming that the missing persons had perished.
The Amicus Curiae brought to the court’s attention a significant discrepancy that has emerged regarding the compensation promised by the government.
In the immediate aftermath of the blast on June 30, 2025, the government announced an ex gratia payment of Rs.1 crore to each family of deceased worker. However, official documentation indicates the government intends to disburse only Rs.25 lakh per family, effectively transferring the responsibility for the remaining compensation to the management. The management, in turn, contested this and maintains the government bears the obligation to fulfil the originally announced compensation. This bureaucratic impasse has left the bereaved families in a state of uncertainty regarding the financial relief they were assured would be forthcoming. Responding to this crucial issue of compensation disbursement, the CJ bench directed Additional Advocate-General T Rajnikanth Reddy to file a comprehensive status report detailing the government’s position by the next scheduled hearing.
The Amicus Curiae said an amount exceeding Rs.6 crore has already been distributed among the families and missing workers, covering the 46 workers who died at the spot or subsequently and the eight who went missing and have now been declared dead. This partial payment represents a fraction of what was initially promised and highlights the pressing need for clarity on the final compensation structure.
The PIL was filed by Kalapala Babu Rao, a retired scientist residing in Snehapuri Colony, Nacharam, who approached the court seeking directions to the government to honour its commitment of paying the full compensation of Rs.1 crore to each family of dead worker.
The petition stems from the horrific industrial accident that occurred on June 30, 2025, at the Sigachi Factory located in Pashamylaram, Sultanpur village, Patancheru mandal in Sangareddy district. The explosion and ensuing fire claimed 46 lives, with eight more workers reported missing and later declared dead, while 28 sustained serious injuries requiring extended medical treatment. The gravity of the disaster prompted the registration of FIR 199 and has since raised serious questions about industrial safety protocols and regulatory oversight in pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. The case now stands adjourned to March 17, with the court maintaining its supervisory jurisdiction over the implementation of relief measures and the resolution of the compensation dispute between the government and the management.
