What happened this week at Kaliachak in Malda district of West Bengal demands condemnation in the strongest possible terms. Seven judicial officers, including three women, were gheraoed for hours while carrying out the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and were denied even the basic dignity of drinking water.

That the exercise itself has become politically contentious across the country — often seen as an attempt to delete names of those unlikely to support the ruling BJP — does not justify mob action. Whether such apprehensions are valid or exaggerated is a matter for democratic debate and legal scrutiny, not for coercion or intimidation.

Preventing officials from performing their lawful duties strikes at the very root of governance. The situation became........

© Free Press Journal