'Most Polarised State': Supreme Court Comes Down Heavily on Bengal Govt After SIR Officers Held Hostage In Malda

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a blistering rebuke of the West Bengal government following a nine-hour gherao of judicial officers in Malda. Labelling West Bengal the nation’s “most polarised” state, the top court condemned the incident as a "pre-planned, calculative, and motivated" strike intended to intimidate officials managing the electoral process.

Terming the incident a brazen and deliberate attempt to obstruct the administration of justice, a bench led by CJI Surya Kant noted with concern that despite prior intimation, the State authorities failed to act promptly, leaving judicial officers without protection, food, or water for hours.

Notably, seven judicial officers, including three women, who were overseeing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were held hostage for several hours last evening in Malda. The gherao was carried out by protesters demonstrating against the removal of their names from the voter list.

Detailing the sequence of events, the court in order to ensure the safety of the judicial officers, also mandated the immediate deployment of central armed forces.

"Political language"

The Court further observed that a "political language" seems to have permeated every level of discourse within West Bengal.

A Bench consisting of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipin Pancholi asserted that the incident was a clear sign that the West Bengal government and its officials had completely abdicated their duties.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant remarked, “Unfortunately, in your state, everyone speaks politically Do you think we are not aware of who the miscreants are? I was monitoring everything till 2 am. Very, very unfortunate.”

Scathing rebuke

The Chief Justice further delivered a scathing rebuke to West Bengal’s top brass, including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, DGP, and district magistrates, demanding to know why they failed to secure the officers' evacuation despite having prior intelligence of the threat.

They are further directed to remain present (virtually) on April 6, the next date of hearing, it said.

The court said, “We will not allow anyone to interfere and take law in their hands in order to create psychological attack on mind of judicial officers ... This is also an abdication of duty by West Bengal government and the officers need to furnish reasons why even after being informed did the officers not ensure safe evacuation of the officers.”

What was the case?

The incident centered on seven judicial officers including three women, who were held hostage by villagers in Malda district on Wednesday. 

The standoff was triggered by mass deletions from the electoral rolls under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The incident was part of a broader wave of protests that paralyzed Malda throughout the day, as demonstrators staged road blockades across national and state highways and key rural routes in at least five Assembly constituencies.

Starting around 4 pm, protesters surrounded the Kaliachak 2 Block Development Office for several hours, allegedly after being barred from a meeting. Three female officers were among those trapped inside the building during the standoff.

The Court observed that although the gherao at the Block Development Office (BDO) commenced around 3:30 pm, no intervention occurred until late evening, despite persistent communications from the Calcutta High Court.

The High Court Chief Justice noted that because neither the District Magistrate nor the Superintendent of Police arrived at the scene, he was forced to contact the Director General of Police and the Home Secretary directly.

“Eventually home secretary and DGP reached residence of Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court. Senior Judges were also in touch with Chief Justice. Finally judicial officers were released after 12 am. When they were released midnight and they were going to their places, there was stone pelting on their vehicles and attack by sticks etc,,” the Court’s order added.

Who is responsible?

Sukanta Majumdar, the Union Minister of State for Education and Development of North Eastern Region, condemned the crisis in Malda.

Criticising the recent violence, Majumdar asserted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statements are responsible for the prevailing volatile situation on the ground. 

"What happened is something that scares everyone. 7 judicial magistrates had gone there. They were not only stopped there but their vehicles were also vandalised. When SP was rescuing them from there, women judicial magistrates' vehicles were vandalised. Roads were blocked to see that no vehicle passes through. During the rule of Left Front, Anita Dewan - a woman official, was dragged out of her vehicle and beaten to death. This was a similar plan. Mamata Banerjee's continuous instigating statements are responsible for this," said Majumdar.

Meanwhile, following the incident, authorities imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to prevent further clashes between BJP and TMC workers outside the Election Commission office in Kolkata, a police officer said.

"Following yesterday's incident, we have invoked Section 163 under the BNS here. We have significantly increased our deployment compared to before. The deployment of CAPF has also been increased. We have made extensive preparations to ensure that no untoward incident occurs here. We have all the necessary resources in place. Whatever the situation may be, we are fully prepared to handle it,' DC Jagannathrao said.