SC Terms Incident an Attempt to Intimidate Judiciary, Seeks Report in SIR Protest Case

The Supreme Court of India has ordered a probe by the CBI or NIA into the alleged illegal confinement of seven judicial officers, including three women, during protests in West Bengal. The officers were reportedly held hostage for several hours inside a Block Development Officer (BDO) office in the Kaliachak area of Malda district while participating in the SIR exercise on Wednesday. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant directed that the investigating agency, to be appointed by the Election Commission, submit a preliminary report by the next date of hearing. The court described the incident as a “brazen attempt” to intimidate judicial officers and challenge the authority of the apex court. It observed that the episode appeared to be a deliberate and motivated act aimed at undermining the morale of judicial officers and disrupting the ongoing adjudication process related to electoral objections. Expressing strong displeasure over the conduct of state authorities, the bench stated that no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands or subject judicial officers to psychological or criminal intimidation. It also termed the incident as a failure of duty on the part of the West Bengal administration and sought explanations as to why timely action was not taken to ensure the safe evacuation of the officials despite prior information. The Supreme Court issued show-cause notices to the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, District Magistrate, and Superintendent of Police of Malda. These officials have been directed to appear virtually before the court on April 6 at 4 pm. Additionally, the court directed the Election Commission to deploy central forces to ensure the safety of judicial officers carrying out their duties. The incident occurred amid protests against the alleged deletion of names from voter lists in Malda district. Demonstrators reportedly surrounded the BDO office and confined the judicial officers for hours before they were eventually rescued after significant effort. Security forces later dispersed the crowd using mild force late on Wednesday night and successfully evacuated the officials, including the three women. Protesters had also blocked National Highway-12 (Kolkata-Siliguri) during the agitation. According to officials, a group of protesters attempted to stop vehicles carrying the judicial officers and tried to cause damage. Security personnel used limited force to ensure their safe exit. There were also unconfirmed reports of some protesters being injured during the unrest. As per the Supreme Court’s earlier directions, the judicial officers are currently examining cases of voters whose names were marked as “under adjudication” in the electoral rolls published on February 28, to determine whether they should be retained or deleted.