Slamming the West Bengal administration for failing to prevent the gherao of judicial officers engaged in SIR in Malda on April 1, the Supreme Court on Monday directed that all FIRs registered by the local police in this connection be transferred to the NIA for further probe.A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi exercised powers under Article 142 and said the NIA will take over the probe even if the offences do not fall in the category under which the Agency can take up the probe.The bench also pulled up the state’s Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala and DGP Siddh Nath Gupta over the breakdown of law and order in Malda where the judicial officers were held hostage for hours and their vehicles attacked when they were rescued. It directed Nairala to tender an apology in this regard to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.The bench, which perused a status report filed by the NIA, said that “there are serious allegations against the members of the state/local police”.Read | NIA team probing Malda gherao case, collects CCTV footage from BDO office, Mothabari Chowrangi more, probing ‘who planned attack’“NIA will be at liberty to register further FIRs during the course of the investigation” if necessary, the court ordered.The SC said: “(The) investigation reports shall be submitted to NIA court in Kolkata. However, before filing the chargesheet, the NIA shall continue to submit the status reports to this court, giving details of the investigation.” It directed the state police “to hand over the entire record of investigation to NIA forthwith”.Questioning the Chief Secretary, who appeared virtually, the CJI said: “Mr Chief Secretary, what is the problem, you don’t even entertain the call of the Chief Justice?”Story continues below this adRead | Complete failure of administration in Malda: Supreme Court on gherao of judicial officersThe official responded: “…there was no call made by any officer from Kolkata, to my phone. On April 1, I had come to Delhi for a meeting and from 2 pm to 4.30 pm I was in flight and till the evening, no phone had come to me.”Justice Bagchi said, “The phone calls came in all probability in the evening, after you had deboarded your flight to Delhi. It would have been extremely helpful for the Chief Justice and the HC administration if you had been kind enough to share your mobile number and other particulars.”When the Chief Secretary replied that “my mobile number has been shared”, Justice Bagchi remarked: “It is mostly switched off”.Nariala said: “It is not mostly switched off, it is secure and connectivity is better.” Justice Bagchi said, “Security is so high that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta HC or the HC administration cannot access. So please lower yourself a bit so that ordinary minions like the Chief Justice of the HC can access.”Story continues below this adThe official then stated he was “extremely apologetic regarding this miscommunication”. At this juncture the bench directed him to apologise to the Chief Justice of the High Court.The CJI also questioned the role of the DGP who was present along with the Chief Secretary. “It is a sheer failure of both of you and your administration that we gave this authority to the judicial officers,” the CJI said.Justice Bagchi said, “… You don’t communicate either with the HC administration, neither do you communicate with the ECI, which is entrusted with giving directions to you in emergencies like this, and this missing link creates so much difficulty and disturbance in the state.”The CJI said, “What kind of credibility this West Bengal bureaucracy has brought to… why the entire state is seen as if politics is being played in the Secretariat, or in offices. Please help in improving that image… It is not something which the senior officers should invite lectures from us…”Story continues below this adThe CJI also said, “There is no question of withdrawal of forces. The way things have happened in the past, they are absolutely needed. And if the state possibly fails, let us know, we will see what has to be done.”