Holding SIR judicial officers hostage in Bengal a ‘calculated attempt’ to disrupt elections: Supreme Court
The Hindu
Supreme Court deems gherao of judicial officers in Bengal a "calculated attempt" to disrupt elections amid severe political polarization.
The Supreme Court on Thursday (April 2, 2026) found the gheraoing of seven judicial officers involved in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls (SIR) and their being held hostage for over nine hours in West Bengal’s Malda district by a mob a “calculated attempt” to derail the massive exercise on time.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the inaction on the part of the State government was “highly deplorable”. It took suo motu cognisance of the incident.
The officers, including three women, were gheraoed at Kaliachak in Malda since Wednesday (April 1, 2026) afternoon. It required a contingent of police and paramilitary forces to rescue the judicial officers around 1 a.m.
The court issued show-cause notices to senior police officers and officials in the administration, asking why responsible action should not be taken against them.
The State government said the local authorities have been transferred.
Chief Justice Kant said he had never seen such political polarisation as in West Bengal. The CJI said he was awake, making interventions and being briefed on the issue till 2 a.m. on Thursday.
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