The Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the incident of stone pelting and attack with sticks on judicial officers engaged in the work of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Malda, West Bengal. The court has given strict orders to the Election Commission to deploy central forces for the security of judicial officers. The Supreme Court has engaged district and session judges to investigate the objections and claims of about 50 lakh people who were excluded from the voter list of Bengal during the SIR. On Wednesday (April 1, 2026), he was attacked by protesters here. The court has taken cognizance of this matter and expressed displeasure over the incident.
The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Panchauli has taken cognizance of the matter. The protesters held the judicial officers hostage from yesterday afternoon till night and when they left at night, their vehicles were attacked with stones and sticks. The court has taken serious cognizance of this incident.
The court has ordered the Election Commission to provide security wherever these officers have stayed. If necessary, security should also be provided to family members. The Election Commission should take steps as per the need and the State Government should work as per the instructions of the Commission. The Supreme Court has also said in the order that where claims are being settled, not more than 5 people should be allowed to gather at a time. The bench has issued show cause notices to the Chief Secretary, DGP, DM and SP asking them to explain why action should not be taken against them.
The court has also ordered these officers to be present in the online hearing on April 6. The court has asked the Election Commission to get the incident investigated by an impartial agency. This agency could be CBI or NIA. The investigating agency has also been ordered to submit its report directly to the Supreme Court.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice reprimanded the Advocate General of West Bengal and said, ‘Unfortunately, every officer in your state speaks political language. Do you think we don’t know who the rioters were? I was taking stock of the situation till 2 o’clock in the night.
CJI Surya Kant said that Malda DM and SP did not reach there. The Chief Justice of the High Court contacted the DGP, after which the judicial officers were able to come out late in the night. Even after this, stones were pelted at them. He said that this is not just a matter of harassing judicial officers. This is like challenging the authority of the Supreme Court. The CJI said that the Chief Justice of the High Court had told that the number of the Chief Secretary was not available on WhatsApp. The kind of incident that has happened can affect the morale of judicial officers. TMC lawyers said that personal affidavits should be sought from the responsible officials.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal was also present in the court on behalf of the petitioners challenging the SIR. Kapil Sibal told CJI to please remove the comment that law and order has completely collapsed in the state. Justice Bagchi said on this, ‘We will consider your request, but understand that this comment is a challenge for you. Prove it wrong.
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