LOOKEAST

Prasanta Paul |

Has the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) ghost turned into a Frankenstein for Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee ?

Alarmed at the alacrity of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct the SIR, the party at the behest of TMC’s top tycoon, had approached the Supreme Court for an immediate relief so that the SC restricted the EC in its alleged ‘free–for–all’ game.

■ People squat on roads in Mohabbotpur in Mothabari Assembly segment of Malda district in West Bengal on Wednesday night | Partha Paul

The top court did pass an order, robbing the EC of any role in the conduct of SIR and instead, delegated the responsibility to the Judicial Officers or District and Sessions Judges of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha for a thorough revision of the electoral rolls.

But, much to the chagrin of Trinamool, the judicial officers who declined to be the ‘Yes Man’ of the state administration, opted to work judiciously in a fearless manner as a result of which more than 20 lakhs ‘ghost’ voters out of 60 lakh pending cases have so far failed to make it to the final list in the state after the fourth round of revision.

Judicial officers who declined to be the ‘Yes Man’ of the state administration, opted to work judiciously in a fearless manner as a result of which more than 20 lakhs ‘ghost’ voters out of 60 lakh pending cases have so far failed to make it to the final list

The border (with Bangladesh) districts especially Malda and Murshidabad bore a massive brunt of the ‘trimming’ exercise. And obviously, this triggered the much awaited ‘volcanic eruption’, something that no state of India has ever witnessed before, especially on the eve of an assembly poll.

The Supreme Court—appointed seven judicial officers including three female judges were heckled and gheraoed for more than 10 hours till late at night on Wednesday (01.04. 2026) by an agitated and angry mob of hundreds and thousands in Mothabari — Kaliachak of Malda district inside the premises of the local Block Development Office (BDO).

The angry mob comprising people whose names were deleted from the final list, had laid a seize preventing the officials from having access to even drinking water; it was after much persuasion and little bit of force that jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) could rescue them from the ordeal late into the night.

Seven judicial officers including three female judges were heckled and gheraoed for more than 10 hours till late at night on Wednesday (01.04. 2026) by an agitated and angry mob of hundreds and thousands in Mothabari

While the escort vehicles of the jawans tried to speed away with the gheraoed officials, they were subjected to heavy brick–batting, leaving windshields of some of the vehicles smashed. The judges had a narrow escape.

The division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi whose attention was drawn by the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Sujay Paul to the judicial officers’ plight, took a serious view of the matter on Thursday (02.04.2026).

■ Protest against SIR name exclusion at Kaliachak, Malda on Wednesday night | ETV Bharat

The bench which came down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee–led West Bengal government, issued strictures that were not only unprecedented, but also quite demeaning for a care–taker government prior to the holding of assembly elections.

In a tersely–worded interim judgement, Hon’ble Chief Justice Surya Kant questioned the actual intent behind the state authorities’ attitude towards maintenance of the law and order and described the entire incident as ‘pre–planned, calculated and motivated.’

“We have evidence of the incident, who are behind it and we are also aware why even a Supreme Court ruling is given a political colour in your state” Justice Surya Kant observed, almost mocking the state solicitor general Kishore Dutta who silently listened to the hammering by the judges.

The bench issued a show–cause notice to the West Bengal chief secretary, home secretary, director general of police (DGP), district magistrate and superintendent of police, directing them to be virtually present on April 6 next when the case would be heard again, with a written explanation

The bench issued a show–cause notice to the West Bengal chief secretary, home secretary, director general of police (DGP), district magistrate and superintendent of police, directing them to be virtually present on April 6 next when the case would be heard again, with a written explanation of their failure to intervene and rescue the judges from being held hostage last night (01.04. 2026).

The top court ordered an independent investigation by either the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the incident. And the court finally lobbed the ball at the court of EC to decide if it would prefer a probe by the CBI or NIA.

While directing the state authorities to ensure protection of the judges through deployment of adequate central forces and not to allow more than five persons into the room where the SIR was being conducted, the court observed that any further act of ‘organised hooliganism amounting to intimidation’ of the judges would henceforth be strictly dealt with by the top court itself.

VIDEO | West Bengal: 18 individuals, including an ISF candidate has been held in connection with unrest over electoral roll deletions in Malda

Seven judicial officers engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) were gheraoed for several hours in West Bengal’s Malda district… pic.twitter.com/R8qslkXaDb

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 2, 2026

The scathing indictment by the Supreme Court has left piercing holes in the Trinamool Congress boat before the polls, coming as a major setback for the party which has been endeavouring hard to woo the electorate with a newly–plucked message.

“The BJP, if it comes to power, will forbid the would–be mothers from having eggs and fish’ Or “After declaration of poll results, those who voted for the BJP, would have to hang out a poster outside, claiming to seek forgiveness for voting the party.”  Messages, some among many, have painstakingly sought to repair a frayed image of TMC.

Whether they are in vain or a fresh vanguard for Mamata, time will decide. But the massive religious polarisation wrought diagonally across a widening part of Bengal in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s severe indictment on the judges’ safety issue, is something that could make or mar the TMC’s hope of a fourth straight victory. ■

Prasanta Paul served Deccan Herald as the Chief of Bureau, Calcutta for nearly two decades before switching to work with various TV channels such as Al-Jazeera, CNN, German TV and CBS. Mr. Paul who accompanied former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on his overseas tour of Singapore and other Asian countries, travelled extensively to Bhutan, Sikkim and Darjeeling besides other Northeastern states.