NEW DELHI, Apr 2:
Terming West Bengal as the “most polarised state”, the Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the administration for its “complete failure” and inaction over the “deplorable” gherao and attack on seven judicial officers in Malda district during the electoral rolls revision drive and directed a CBI or NIA probe besides deployment of central forces in the poll-bound state.
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In a scathing indictment, the top court said the incident “also exposes complete failure of the state administration” and was a “brazen attempt not only to browbeat the judicial officers” but also amounted to challenge the authority of this Supreme Court.
Dismissing the submissions that it was “apolitical protest”, the Chief Justice Surya Kant-led bench said it was not a “routine incident. Rather, ex-facie a calculated, deliberate move to demoralise the judicial officers”.
“If the protest was apolitical, then what were the political leaders doing? Was it not their duty to get to the spot and see what’s happening? That somebody’s trying to take law and order in their hands? At 5’o clock these people gheraoed the officers and till 11 PM, your Collector was not there,” the CJI said.
The court asked the Election Commission to “requisition adequate Central Forces and deploy them at all places where judicial officers are adjudicating the objections” in the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state.
“The Election Commission is also directed to entrust the inquiry/investigation in yesterday’s incident to an independent agency – that is CBI or NIA. A compliance report to be submitted. The agency to whom investigation is entrusted would be obligated to submit a preliminary report directly to this court,” it ordered.
As many as 700 judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand are deployed in the ongoing SIR process to deal with over 60 lakh objections of those who are excluded from the voter lists during the SIR process.
The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, directed the state chief secretary, the DGP and the district magistrate and SSP of Malda to “show cause as to why suitable action be not taken against them in light of contents of letter received from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.”
The CJI directed all the top officials to appear before it online on April 6 when the bench will take up the pleas, including the one filed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (PTI)
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