New Delhi, April 3 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday deprecated the "complete failure of civil and police administration" in West Bengal, taking suo motu cognisance of the hostage-taking of seven judicial officers in Malda district and describing it as a "deplorable" and "calculated, well-planned" attempt to browbeat the judiciary and challenge the authority of the apex court. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi moved swiftly to secure the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to immediately requisition and deploy central forces at all places where judicial officers are adjudicating voter objections. Just three weeks ahead of the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election, protests over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls spread across several districts of the state on Thursday, with agitators blocking roads and highways over the deletion of names from poll lists. Protesters burned tyres, blocked roads and held silent marches in Malda, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Purba Bardhaman, where voting will be held on April 23. A day earlier, seven judicial officers, including three women, who were engaged in the electoral rolls revision exercise, were gheraoed in Malda district's Kaliachak. They were rescued by security forces after several hours. The apex court also asked ECI to hand over the probe into the April 1 incident to either the Central Bureau of Investigation or the National Investigation Agency, while issuing notices to the chief secretary, director general of police, home secretary and district officials of West Bengal to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them. Posting the matter for April 6, the bench directed the officials to remain present online, adding that it would closely monitor compliance of its directions and the probe into the incident. The court's order was anchored in a detailed account received from the Calcutta high court chief justice, which painted a disturbing picture of administrative paralysis. Seven judicial officers, including three women, were confined for nearly 10 hours inside a Block Development Office's premises in Kaliachak, Malda, after being surrounded by protesters from around 2.30 pm on Wednesday. Despite urgent communications from the high court registry to the state administration, no effective action was taken until late in the night. The officers were denied even basic necessities such as food and water, and senior officials, including the district magistrate and superintendent of police, did not reach the spot. The situation escalated to the point where the high court chief justice himself had to intervene, with the director general of poliec and home secretary eventually arriving at his residence around 11 pm. The officers were released only around midnight, and even then, the court recorded, they were pelted with stones and assaulted with bamboo sticks while leaving the premises. Around 700 judicial officers are adjudicating the applications of six million people put under a controversial 'logical discrepancy' category during the SIR....