India, Oct. 8 -- Twenty-two deaths caused by contaminated water in Madhya Pradesh's Indore last December resulted from a series of failures dating back over three decades, according to an investigation by a one-member judicial commission that has jolted the administration into action.

A 112-page report by Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta was submitted to the Madhya Pradesh High Court's Indore bench on August 18, exposing the lapses.

The court, on January 27, appointed Justice Gupta as the one-member commission to probe complaints of water contamination in Indore's Bhagirathpura and some other parts of the city. It noted that, prima facie, the case raised questions related to Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life....