West Bengal SIR | SC orders NIA probe into gherao of judicial officers

Disposal figures placed before Court, bottlenecks identified

At the outset, CJI Surya Kant shared that 59,15,000 objections have been decided, according to a communication sent by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. The Bench clarified that some figures had not yet been reflected on the Election Commission website dashboard. Senior Advocate D.S. Naidu, appearing for the Election Commission of India (ECI) stated that around 25,000–26,000 cases from different phases remained to be updated and assured the Court that the update would be completed shortly.

Court pushes for uniform appellate procedure

On 10 March, the Court had directed the setting up of appellate tribunals to adjudicate claims and objections arising out of the SIR exercise. Addressing concerns regarding their functioning, including lack of clarity on procedure, personal hearings and filing mechanisms, the Bench proceeded to streamline the process.

To ensure uniformity, the Court requested the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to constitute a committee of three senior-most former Chief Justices or Judges to prescribe the procedure to be followed by all 19 appellate tribunals. It directed that the procedure be finalised immediately and notified by the next day so that appeals can be taken up without delay. The Court clarified that tribunals will have access to the full record, including reasons recorded by judicial officers and may form their own procedure consistent with principles of natural justice.

Addressing filing issues, the Court directed that nodal officers remain present at tribunal premises and ensure that receipts are issued for all offline submissions. Justice Joymalya Bagchi warned that failure to issue receipts would lead to future disputes, as parties may later claim that their documents were not considered.

Submissions on exclusion rate, interim relief declined

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan submitted that the exclusion rate was “very high” and stood at 55 percent. He pointed out that the electors faced practical difficulties in accessing the appellate process and pointed towards the high volume of pending appeals. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal suggested that interim relief be granted in prima facie cases where exclusion appeared incorrect. The Court declined to intervene.

CJI Surya Kant stated, “Ultimately, you are not remediless,” and asked parties to raise such grievances before the appellate tribunals. Justice Bagchi added that “we do not want to rush it,” and clarified that prior inclusion does not automatically entitle a person to continued inclusion in the rolls.

Nandlal Bose grandson’s plea

The Court was also informed by Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta of the exclusion of the 88-year-old grandson of Nandlal Bose, who illustrated the Constitution of India. Recording that an appeal had already been filed, the Court noted the ECI’s assurance that assistance would be provided and requested the appellate tribunal to take up the matter at the earliest.

Court hands over Malda gherao investigation to NIA

On 2 April, the Court took suo motu cognisance of a communication from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court concerning the gherao of judicial officers in Malda on 1 April. Seven judicial officers, including three women, were surrounded by a mob inside the Block Development Office and prevented from discharging their duties for several hours.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to speeches made in the backdrop of the incident and submitted that they were “destroying the democracy”. The Court was shown a  video of a judicial officer in tears stating on camera that her life was in danger and “please take care of my children.”

The Court was informed that multiple FIRs had been registered, including three cases directly involving judicial officers, along with several others relating to blockades in the area.

Taking note of serious allegations against the State police, the Court directed, in exercise of its powers under Article 142, that the investigation be transferred to NIA. It directed that all FIRs be handed over to the NIA and granted liberty to the agency to register further FIRs if additional offences or involvement of other persons emerge during the course of investigation.

The Court also directed the State police to hand over all records, including case diaries and extend full cooperation to the NIA.

State officials questioned on response; Court records apology

The Bench questioned the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, West Bengal, who appeared before the Court, on the response of the administration and the police during the gherao of judicial officers in Malda.

CJI Surya Kant termed it a “sheer failure” and stated that both the administration and the police had failed to respond when judicial officers required immediate assistance. He observed that such lapses affected the credibility of the entire process and remarked that “because of your lack of action” the ECI gets a bad rap.

Justice Bagchi raised concerns over the lack of communication pointing out that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court had been unable to reach senior officials. In a sharp remark, he stated that officials should “lower” their level of inaccessibility so that even the Chief Justice can contact them. The Chief Secretary stated that he had been travelling at the relevant time, however, the Court remained unconvinced. It directed him to apologise to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and recorded that the State must extend full cooperation to ensure the safety of judicial officers.

The Court will now hear both matters on 13 April .