The Supreme Court on Monday lashed out at West Bengal Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariyala, asking why he did not answer numerous calls made by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. Unsatisfied with the clarification given by the Election Commission of India’s appointed official, the Supreme Court also asked him to “lower” himself a little so that his “henchmen” like the Chief Justice could convey their messages.
The court’s remarks came as it criticized several West Bengal administration officials over the appointment of seven judicial officials who were appointed to conduct the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of voter roll exercise in Malda district.
“Lower yourself for minions like…”
When asked why he did not answer the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice’s calls, Nariyala reportedly said that he did not receive any calls and was on a flight between 2pm and 4pm at the relevant time, LiveLaw reported.
The chief secretary also said that his phone is a very secure device.
Disturbed by this response, a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalia Bagchi directed him to issue an apology to the chief justice.
“The security is so high that not even the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court can reach you? So please lower yourself a little so that ordinary minions like the Chief Justice of the High Court can reach you,” LiveLaw Judge Bagchi was quoted as saying.
In response, Bengal’s chief secretary apologized profusely.
Dushyant Nariyala was recently appointed as the Chief Secretary of the early-poll Bengal by the Election Commission of India (ECI), replacing Nandini Chakravorty who was appointed to the post on December 31, 2025.
What happened to the judicial officers in Malda?
During Monday’s hearing, the Supreme Court directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the probe into the hostage-taking of seven judicial officers, including women, in Malda.
The Supreme Court strongly criticized the state administration and police in Bengal and said that the situation reflects a complete failure in management and coordination.
“It is only because of the abject failure of the state administration and police… that the IEC remains in the dark. You cannot communicate with the Supreme Court or the IEC and this deficiency has created unrest in the state,” the court said, according to a report by news agency ANI.
The dismissed poll workers were tasked with adjudicating the cases of voters whose names were marked “under dismissal” in the draft electoral rolls. They were detained for hours inside the Kalyachak 2 development office on Wednesday. The crowd that led this rally claimed that the real names of voters had been dropped from the voter list.
