Seven judicial officers overseeing the voter list revision process in West Bengal were held hostage for more than nine hours at a government office in Malda on Wednesday, in an incident that has triggered Supreme Court intervention, a high-profile arrest at Bagdogra Airport, and one of the sharpest judicial rebukes of a state government in recent memory. The Supreme Court described the incident as a brazen attempt to browbeat judicial officers and called West Bengal the most polarised state in the country.
The Arrest
West Bengal Police arrested All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Mofakkerul Islam on Friday as he attempted to flee the state at Bagdogra Airport. Islam, an advocate by profession and the AIMIM candidate from Itahar in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls, has been described by police as the mastermind behind the Malda incident. His arrest at the airport, apparently attempting to leave the state, adds a dimension of deliberate evasion to the charges against him.
What Happened in Malda
The incident occurred at the Kaliachak II Block Development Office in Malda on Wednesday. Seven judicial officers had been posted there to oversee the Special Intensive Revision process for the poll-bound West Bengal assembly elections, specifically to review adjudication cases where voter eligibility was disputed.
A large protest erupted outside the BDO office. Protesters initially requested a meeting with the officers, which was denied. By around 4 PM, the crowd gheraoed the BDO office, surrounding it completely and effectively taking all seven officers hostage. Three of the seven officers were women. A five-year-old child belonging to one of the officers was also present inside the office throughout the ordeal.
The officers were held for more than nine hours before a police team rescued them around midnight. As the officers were evacuated, protesters hurled stones at the police van. Social media visuals showed shattered car windows and protesters chasing the police vehicles as the officers were escorted to safety.
Why This Was Happening — The SIR Background
The Special Intensive Revision exercise by the Election Commission of India in West Bengal has become one of the most contentious flashpoints ahead of the assembly polls. The final voters’ list following the SIR process recorded over 63 lakh deletions from the electoral rolls, while another 60 lakh voters were placed under adjudication, meaning their eligibility to vote remained disputed and subject to further review.
The judicial officers targeted in the Malda incident had been tasked, under Supreme Court directions, with reviewing these adjudication cases to determine whether disputed voters should be retained on or removed from the electoral rolls. The protest and subsequent hostage-taking was directly aimed at obstructing this judicial review process in a state heading toward assembly elections.
The Supreme Court’s Response
The incident reached the Supreme Court the following morning. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul Pancholi responded with extraordinary force.
Chief Justice Surya Kant described the incident as a brazen attempt not only to browbeat judicial officers but one that challenges the authority of the Supreme Court itself. He noted that the officers were released only after intervention from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, meaning the state government and police did not act on their own initiative for nine hours while judicial officers were held hostage.
The bench criticised the Bengal government as a criminal failure and described West Bengal as the most polarised state in the country where politics has overshadowed even compliance with court orders.
The court reprimanded the state chief secretary, the Director General of Police, the Superintendent of Police, and the Malda district collector. It directed the Election Commission to deploy central forces to protect judicial officers including at their residences. And in its most significant order, the bench directed the Election Commission to entrust the investigation into the incident to either the CBI or the NIA, removing the probe from West Bengal Police’s jurisdiction entirely.
The court summoned the chief secretary, DGP, and district magistrate to appear on April 6 to show cause why action should not be taken against them for the lapse in handling the situation.
What Comes Next
The CBI or NIA investigation ordered by the Supreme Court will take the case out of the state government’s hands at the most sensitive possible moment, with West Bengal assembly elections approaching and the SIR voter list revision already deeply contested. The deployment of central forces to protect judicial officers carrying out the adjudication review signals that the Supreme Court does not trust the West Bengal government to ensure the safety of officers conducting its own court-ordered process.
For AIMIM leader Mofakkerul Islam, arrested at Bagdogra Airport while apparently attempting to leave the state, the charges relate to orchestrating an attack on the judicial process itself rather than simply participating in a protest. That distinction, and the Supreme Court’s explicit framing of the incident as a challenge to its own authority, makes this a case with significant legal consequences beyond the immediate political controversy.
This article is based on publicly reported information from Indian news sources as of April 3, 2026. The Supreme Court hearing details are sourced from published court proceedings. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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