Gherao of judicial staff a challenge to SC: CJI

3 APRIL 2026

The Supreme Court said a mob gherao of seven judicial officers, confining them without food or water for more than nine hours at a government office in Malda district of West Bengal, reportedly after several voters were struck off the electoral rolls in the special intensive revision (SIR) was not only a “brazen attempt” to browbeat the officers but also amounted to a challenge to the authority of the top court.
Hundreds of judicial officers have been deployed on the basis of a Supreme Court order to function as Election Registration Officers and adjudicate objections raised by voters excluded from the rolls during the SIR ahead of the Assembly election scheduled for April 23 and 29, 2026.
Noting that three of the judicial officers were women, the court said the incident exposed the “complete failure of the civil and police administration in the State of West Bengal”.
The court directed the Election Commission (EC) to assign the Central Bureau of Investigation or National Investigation Agency with the task to probe the incident. It directed the Commission to requisition Central forces to protect the life, liberty and families of the judicial officers.