Supreme Court Pulls Up Bengal Govt Over Attack on Judges

New Delhi, Berhampore: The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the West Bengal administration for its “complete failure” and inaction over the “highly deplorable” gherao and attack on seven judicial officers in Malda district during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, blamed the Election Commission for the gherao, as the latter is managing law and order in the state ahead of the Assembly elections. She also criticised AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi of provoking some people — on the advice of the BJP — to block roads and gherao the judges to impose President Rule in the state.

Describing West Bengal as the “most polarised state”, the Supreme Court observed that the incident exposed a “complete failure of the state administration”. It termed the attack a “brazen attempt” to browbeat judicial officers and a challenge to the authority of the Supreme Court.

The court ordered an independent probe by the CBI or NIA and directed deployment of Central forces at all locations where objections to exclusion from electoral rolls are being adjudicated by appellate tribunals in the state.

Acting on the orders of the Supreme Court, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday handed over the investigation of the incident to the National Investigation Agency. An NIA team is likely to reach West Bengal on Friday.

Earlier in the day, a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi said the incident was not routine but “ex facie a calculated, deliberate move to demoralise judicial officers”.

Rejecting the claim that it was an “apolitical protest”, the Chief Justice said: “If the protest was apolitical, then what were the political leaders doing? Was it not their duty to reach the spot and see what was happening? That someone was trying to take the law into their hands? From 5 pm to 11 pm, your collector was not there.”

Around 700 judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand have been deployed in the ongoing SIR process to deal with over 60 lakh objections from those excluded from the electoral rolls. The court further directed the Chief Secretary, the DGP, the District Magistrate, Malda, and the superintendent of police, Malda, to show cause as to why action should not be taken against them in light of the letter received from the Chief Justice of the High Court.

The Chief Justice of India directed all senior officials to appear virtually before the court on April 6, when the bench will hear the pleas, including the one filed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Addressing rallies in Murshidabad, the West Bengal Chief Minister said, “Law and order is under the Election Commission, which functions on the instructions of Union home minister Amit Shah. The Commission has effectively imposed a “super President’s Rule” with the support of Shah and the Governor. I am unaware of who was behind the Malda incident and was not informed. Neither the Chief Secretary, home secretary nor the DGP has contacted or briefed me on the situation. The Chief Secretary has not even reached out once. I came to know about the gherao of judges only around midnight through a journalist,” she said.

In an apparent reference to Asaduddin Owaisi, she alleged external influence in the unrest. “Someone flew in from Hyderabad. BJP gave money to some traitors to provoke you. They made you block roads and gherao the judges. What was the result? Whatever the SC has said today is correct. Don’t you know that CBI and NIA are used against protesters? This is the BJP’s game plan. They don’t want elections. They want President’s Rule.”

Targeting former TMC leader Humayun Kabir, she alleged attempts to split votes with support from opposition groups. “The BJP has communal people. There are some of them here also. They have taken money from the BJP to split votes. I have promised that none of you will be driven out and will be sent to detention camps. But if you take the law into your own hands, then CBI and NIA will arrest you. There are traitors among you as well. They have taken money from Delhi. Who has stopped you from building temples and mosques? How much money have you taken from them? The leader from Hyderabad helped in splitting Muslim votes in Bihar to help the BJP.”

Appealing for restraint, she said, “There is a discontentment among people in Malda, Murshidabad and Uttar Dinajpur. People have fallen prey to the BJP’s game plan. I don’t support riots. Your anger is genuine. What happened yesterday has been a setback in our fight for the people. This was pre-planned. I will request the people of Malda and Murshidabad to maintain peace. Make sure you give no chance of getting arrested by CBI and NIA.”

Terming the Malda incident a “black spot” in the country’s history, the BJP alleged that “TMC goons” acted at the behest of Mamata Banerjee to obstruct the SIR exercise and protect Rohingyas. BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia questioned whether the Chief Minister was “ashamed” of the Supreme Court’s observations and whether she would resign.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice referred to the “shocking” timeline of the incident and said the gherao began at 3.30 pm and the Registrar General of the High Court informed the state authorities. However, until 8.30 pm, despite repeated appeals, no effective action was taken.

The order noted: “Nothing was done till 8.30 pm. The Registrar General then contacted the Home Secretary and the DGP, who assured prompt action. However, no steps were taken, and even food and water were not allowed to be supplied to the judicial officers.”

The Chief Justice of the High Court was compelled to intervene personally, placing group calls to the Home Secretary and the Director General of Police. The Home Secretary and the DGP then reached the Chief Justice’s residence, following which the judicial officers, who had been held hostage, were released after midnight.

The Chief Justice of India said: “Shockingly, when the judicial officers were released and were returning to their residences, stones were pelted at their vehicles, and they were attacked with sticks and bricks. The Chief Justice has deprecated the delay in action by the state administration. The incident is likely to have a chilling effect on judicial officers who are working tirelessly. We are extremely disappointed to note that the Chief Secretary could not be contacted. No message could be conveyed to him.”

He further observed: “Till 11 pm, your collector was not present. I had to issue very harsh verbal directions during the night.”

The bench noted its disappointment on perusing the High Court Chief Justice’s letter, which stated that the Chief Secretary could not be contacted as he had not shared a mobile number with WhatsApp facility, and therefore no communication could be conveyed to him.

The Chief Justice of India also expressed strong disapproval when some lawyers attempted to describe the incident as a routine protest.