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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has taken a stern view of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal following the reported confinement of judicial officers in Malda. With the state Assembly elections scheduled for April 23 and 29, a three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi has issued a series of directives.

Registering a suo motu case titled ‘In Re: Safety and Security of Judicial Officers Deputed for Work Relating to SIR of Electoral Rolls in the State of West Bengal and Ancillary Issues’, the court has addressed issues ranging from the physical security of election officials to the fundamental voting rights of citizens excluded from the rolls.

Here are 10 key observations and directives issued by the Supreme Court during the hearings:

1. On the confinement of judicial officers

After seven judicial officers, including three women, were reportedly held hostage without food or water for more than nine hours in Malda district on April 1, Chief Justice Kant observed, “This was not a routine incident. It was ex facie a calculated, well-planned and deliberate move to demoralise the judicial officers and impact the ongoing process of adjudication of objections. We will not allow anyone to interfere and take law into their hands by causing fear in the minds of judicial officers. This undoubtedly amounts to criminal contempt.”

The court noted that the officers were pelted with stones as they were finally rescued by police well past midnight. Questioning the absence of local leaders, the Chief Justice asked why they could not have gone to the spot to calm the situation. Justice Bagchi added that leaders of the executive and the Opposition must condemn the incident in one voice, noting, “The orders of the judicial officers are deemed to be the orders of this court. This incident sought to scuttle the entire effort… discourage judicial officers… It amounts to contempt of court.”

Representing the ECI, Senior Advocate D.S. Naidu exclaimed that the incident was “jungle raj,” while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta termed it “unacceptable and an affront to the majesty of rule of law,” submitting that the State could not be entrusted with the officers’ security.

2. On the political climate of West Bengal

Expressing dismay over the hostility faced by officers deployed on the court’s orders, Chief Justice Kant addressed the state’s counsel regarding the deep partisan divides. “Unfortunately in your state, each one of you speaks a political language… I have never seen such a politically polarised state. Even in court orders, the politics is reflected,” he said, adding, “Do you think........

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