It is definitely a matter of grave concern that none other than the Supreme Court itself on April 2, 2026 slammed the West Bengal State administration over the April 1, 2026 violence against seven judicial officers two of whom were women who were deputed in Malda district to decide cases flagged for logical discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the State and who were taken hostage inside a government building in Central Bengal for nearly 10 hours inside a Block Development Office’s premises in Kaliachak in Malda during the SIR of the electoral roll and ordered a probe by the CBI or NIA into the ghastly incident. The top court said that the entrusted agency should “submit a preliminary inquiry report directly to this court”. It must be noted that the top court deprecated strongly the “complete failure of civil and police administration” in West Bengal and took suo motu cognizance of the hostage-taking of seven judicial officers in Malda district.
The ghastly incident unfolded against the backdrop of widespread protests in Malda district where demonstrators alleged large scale deletion of names from electoral rolls as part of the SIR exercise. In several areas, roads and highways were blocked and tensions escalated through the day. While taking strong exceptions to the attack on judicial officers complying with its order to adjudicate regarding exclusion from voter list in West Bengal’s Malda district, the Apex Court said in no uncertain terms that there is breakdown of law and order in the State and issued show-cause notice to the Chief Secretary, DGP, District Magistrate and SP to explain why action should not be taken against them.
We need to take into account that the Chief Justice of India – Hon’ble Mr Surya Kant stated that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court – Hon’ble Mr Justice Sujoy Pal had alerted him about the situation late at night and again in the morning. Despite being informed, the roles of the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of Police and local SPs were described as “deeply disappointing”.
Police arrested 18 persons in connection with a violent mob agitation the night before that held seven judicial officers hostage for 10 hours even as fresh protests broke out across four districts against the controversial deletion of names under the SIR. Those arrested included ISF candidate Maulana Muhammad Shahjahan Ali Qadri and 17 others who were remanded in police custody for 10 days by the Malda district court. To lift a blockade at Malda’s Mangalbari, Additional District Magistrate Sheikh Ansar Ahmed reached the spot and warned the protesters of consequences.
By the way, we must also take note of the irrefutable fact that the top court described it as a “deplorable” and “calculated, well-planned” attempt to browbeat the judiciary and challenge the authority of the Apex Court. It is worth noting that a three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising of Chief Justice of India – Hon’ble Mr Surya Kant, Hon’ble Mr Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Hon’ble Mr Justice Vipul M Pancholi noted that a letter from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court stated that the judicial officers in Malda did not receive any help, even from senior officials, until 8.30 pm. The Bench directed the officials to remain present online, adding that it would closely monitor compliance of its directions and the probe into the incident.
In its order that was dictated in open court in the morning, the Apex Court Bench said that the incident also “exposes the complete failure of the civil and police administration of the State.” The final order that was uploaded on the Supreme Court website later in the day said that the incident “reflects complete failure on the part of the civil and police administration, in so far as the law and order situation in Malda district is concerned.” It would be worthwhile to note that while responding to the submission that the protests were apolitical and that the onus was on the Election Commission as all officials had been replaced by the poll body, CJI Hon’ble Mr Surya Kant quipped pointing out that, “If the protest was apolitical, then what were the political leaders doing? Was it not their duty to go to the spot and see what was happening, that somebody was trying to take the law and order into their hands?”
It would be instructive to note that when the Bengal Advocate General – Mr Kishore Datta submitted that the Election Commission “should not be acting like an adversary”, the CJI Hon’ble Mr Surya Kant minced absolutely just no words to hasten to add noting that, “Mr Advocate General, now you are compelling us. Unfortunately, in your state, each one of you speaks political language. That is the most unfortunate thing. We have never seen such a polarized state. That even in compliance with court orders, politics is reflected… Do you think we are not aware of who the miscreants are? At least, I was monitoring everything till 2 am. Very unfortunate.”
Adding more to it, the Bench most forthrightly added further stating that, “The incident…is a brazen attempt not only to browbeat judicial officers, but also amounts to a challenge to the authority of this court.” More to the point, we see that the Apex Court said that it “certainly cannot be construed to be a routine occurrence and, ex facie, appears to be a calculated, well-planned and deliberate act intended to demoralize judicial officers and obstruct the ongoing process of adjudication of objections in the remaining cases. We have no hesitation in observing that we will not permit any person to take the law into their own hands so as to create a climate of psychological fear in the minds of judicial officers who are discharging their duties.” Absolutely right!
What’s more, the Apex Court was unambiguous in holding that, “Such conduct, undoubtedly amounts to criminal contempt within the meaning of Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.”
While making no bones about the unpalatable situation in West Bengal, the Apex Court Bench was most unequivocal in holding clearly that, “It pains us to observe that the manner in which the Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary, the Director General of Police, the Collector and the Superintendent of Police have acted is highly deplorable. They owe an explanation to this court as to why, upon being informed that the judicial officers had been gheraoed at around 03.30 pm, no effective measures were taken to secure their safe evacuation. It was incumbent upon the state administration to immediately inform the Election Commission of India and seek deployment of central forces, wherever necessary, to ensure the safety of the judicial officers.”
It is worth paying singular attention that the Apex Court underlined most emphatically that the judicial officers tasked with adjudicating voter objections were functioning under its authority, and any attempt to intimidate or obstruct them would have serious consequences. The Bench then further observed that, “Our previous orders speak volumes…the judicial officers are our extended hands.” The Bench further hastened to observe adding that any breach of their functioning would be construed as contempt of court.
It further warned that it would not allow “anyone to take law into their own hands to create a psychological fear in the minds of judicial officers”. The Bench noted with concern that the incident was likely to have a “chilling effect” on officers who have been working relentlessly, including on weekends, to complete the massive exercise involving millions of voter objections. In a bid to restore confidence and ensure continuity of the SIR exercise, the court issued a comprehensive set of commendable directions placing the onus on both the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the State machinery. The Apex Court directed the ECI to requisition adequate central forces and deploy them at all adjudication venues, while also ensuring security at the places where judicial officers are staying as well as for their family members.
The State Government of West Bengal acting under the ECI’s directions was asked to take all necessary remedial measures to ensure that officers can function without fear or obstruction. The Apex Court also mandated that strict access control be maintained at adjudication centres, with no more than three persons allowed at any given time, to prevent crowding or intimidation. Notably, the Apex Court Bench directed that the probe into the gherao be entrusted to either CBI or NIAS with a compliance report to be filed before the court. The investigating agency will submit its findings directly to the Supreme Court.
It cannot be lost sight of that in its order, the Apex Court came down very heavily on the conduct of senior state officials noting that the Chief Secretary could not even be contacted at a critical juncture and had not shared accessible communication details. While calling the response of the State administration “highly deplorable”, the Apex Court Bench said that the officials must explain why no effective measures were taken for the safe evacuation of judicial officers, despite clear warnings and escalating risks. The top court further observed that, “This undoubtedly amounts to criminal contempt” tying the administrative lapse directly to a breakdown of constitutional responsibility. Of course, there can be just no gainsaying that those who are guilty must definitely be brought to book at the earliest so that the right message goes all across that, “Be you ever so high, the law stands above you.” No denying it!
Sanjeev Sirohi