New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the West Bengal government over the gherao of judicial officers in Malda for 9 hours, calling the state “the most polarised” in the country and condemning what it described as a “pre-planned, calculative and motivated” attempt to demoralise officers.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipin Pancholi said the incident reflected an abdication of duty by the West Bengal government and its officials. Addressing the West Bengal Advocate General, the 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.”
The court said that it was imperative for the West Bengal government to inform the Election Commission and request deployment of central forces to ensure the safety of judicial officers. It then issued the following directions for the protection of the judges:
The Election Commission is to deploy central forces to safeguard judicial officers while performing their duties. The Election Commission must also station forces at the residences of officers who perceive any threat to their family, with such threat assessments acted upon immediately.
The Election Commission and State government are to take all necessary measures to ensure the safe functioning of the judicial officers’ assigned tasks. The Home Secretary, DGP, district magistrates, and all police officials are directed to ensure that no more than two or three individuals are allowed to enter premises for filing objections, and that gatherings during hearings are limited to five people, with adequate security measures in place.
The Chief Secretary, DGP and State Chief Electoral Officer are required to submit a compliance report to the Court. The court also issued a show cause notice to Chief Secretary, DGP, the concerned district magistrate and SSP to explain why action should not be initiated against them, and ordered their personal appearance before the Court on April 6.
The incident involved seven judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) examining deletions from electoral rolls.The Court noted that the gherao at the Block Development Officer (BDO) office began around 3.30 pm, yet despite repeated communication from the Calcutta High Court, no action was taken until late evening. Three women officers were among those trapped inside.
According to the High Court Chief Justice, neither the district magistrate nor the superintendent of police reached the site, prompting him to contact the Director General of Police and the Home Secretary directly.“Evventually 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.
Read Also : Explosion Outside Punjab BJP Office In Chandigarh; CFSL Team Joins Probe