The Supreme Court of India on Monday exercised its plenary powers to transfer the investigation into the gherao and attack on seven judicial officers in West Bengal’s Malda district to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi observed that the incident appeared “pre-planned and motivated,” signaling a significant failure of the state administration.
The primary legal issue concerned the safety and security of judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and the alleged failure of the West Bengal state machinery to protect them during a violent gherao. Invoking its extraordinary jurisdiction, the Supreme Court shifted the probe from state police to the NIA and directed the interrogation of 26 arrested individuals, even those currently in judicial custody.
The incident occurred on April 1, during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Malda. Approximately 700 judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand had been deployed to adjudicate over 60 lakh objections raised by individuals excluded from voter lists.
During this exercise, seven judicial officers were gheraoed for several hours and subjected to an attack. The Scale of the SIR process is massive, aimed at ensuring the integrity of electoral rolls, making the security of the presiding officers a matter of high judicial concern.
The Bench expressed grave concern over the politicization of the state administration and the conduct of top officials.
On Administrative Failure: The Court specifically pulled up West Bengal Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala for his conduct on the day of the incident. The Bench noted with displeasure that the Chief Secretary failed to answer calls from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court while the judicial officers were under siege.
“The credibility of the West Bengal bureaucracy is being lowered, and politics is being brought into the secretariat and government offices,” the Bench remarked.
The Court further stated that the Chief Secretary’s failure to respond to the head of the state’s judiciary represented a “failure of the district administration.”
On the Nature of the Incident: After reviewing the circumstances, the Court concluded that the gherao was not a spontaneous protest but a calculated effort to disrupt the judicial process.
“The Malda incident… was actually pre-planned and motivated,” the Court observed.
Exercising its plenary power, the Supreme Court issued the following directions:
- Transfer of Probe: The entire case related to the gherao and attack on judicial officers in Malda is transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
- Interrogation: The NIA is authorized to interrogate the 26 individuals already arrested by the state police, regardless of whether they are currently in judicial custody.
- Apology Required: The Chief Secretary has been directed to tender an apology to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court for the failure to attend to his calls during the crisis.
