Mamata Banerjee
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday, April 2, took suo motu cognisance of the gheraoing of seven judicial officers, including three women, by a mob in West Bengal’s Malda district during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, terming it a “calculated and deliberate” attempt to demoralise the officers and obstruct the electoral process, and slamming the state administration’s inaction as a “criminal failure.”
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi took up the matter urgently after receiving a letter from the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice about the incident, in which judicial officers carrying out SIR duties were surrounded by demonstrators at Kaliachak in Malda from Wednesday afternoon, April 1, and held for over nine hours before being rescued by police and paramilitary forces around 1 am.
The mob reportedly consisted of voters whose names had been deleted from the electoral rolls. As the officers were being evacuated, their vehicles were attacked with stones and bamboo sticks.
CJI Surya Kant said he had been monitoring the situation through the night and had to pass urgent orders to ensure the officers’ safety. “Till 11 pm, your Collector was not there. I had to verbally instruct very harsh orders in the night. A five-year-old child was not allowed food and water,” the CJI said.
The court’s order noted that the gherao began at 3.30 pm on Wednesday and the Registrar General of the High Court had immediately sought intervention from the state administration. No action was taken until 8.30 pm. Food and water were denied to the officers during this period.
The Chief Secretary could not be contacted at all. It was only after the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice personally intervened and contacted the Home Secretary and other officials that the officers were finally released after midnight, the court noted.
“We are extremely disappointed to note that the Chief Secretary could not be contacted and no messages could be shared with him,” the bench recorded. The conduct of the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Superintendent of Police and the District Collector was “highly deplorable,” the court said, issuing show-cause notices to all four and directing them to appear online on April 6 at 4 pm to explain why action should not be taken against them.
The court warned that the mob’s conduct amounted to criminal contempt. “We will not allow anyone to take the law into their hands to create psychological fear in the mind of judicial officers who are performing a solemn duty,” the bench said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI), represented by Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, termed the incident an act of “mobocracy” and called it unacceptable. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said it was an assault on the Supreme Court itself, since the officers were acting on directions of the apex court. The ECI described the situation in West Bengal as “jungle raj.”
The court directed the ECI to requisition adequate central forces and deploy them at all locations where judicial officers are adjudicating SIR objections. It also ordered that not more than three to five persons be allowed to enter any premises at a time for filing objections or during hearings.
It directed the ECI to entrust the investigation of the incident to an independent agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state government, sought to have the phrase “complete breakdown of law and order” removed from the order, calling it an isolated incident that should not reflect on the entire state. Naidu opposed the request, calling it “the naked truth.” Justice Bagchi said the bench had taken note of Sibal’s submission.
After the hearing, the West Bengal Advocate General suggested the ECI should not be acting as an adversary. “Unfortunately, in your state, each one of you speaks political language. That is the most unfortunate thing. We have never seen such a polarised state. I was monitoring everything till 2 am. Very unfortunate,” the CJI said. The state government informed the court that local authorities involved had since been transferred.
This post was last modified on April 2, 2026 3:07 pm