The Congress slammed the BJP-led government on Saturday (January 24, 2026)over the transfer of Sambhal Chief Judicial Magistrate Vibhanshu Sudheer, who had directed that an FIR be lodged against police personnel in connection with the Sambhal violence, and alleged that this is not an administrative move but a “direct assault on judicial independence”. The opposition party urged the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court to take suo-motu cognisance of the “arbitrary and deeply-troubling transfer” of Sudheer. Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said timely judicial intervention is essential to uphold the rule of law, protect institutional autonomy and prevent further erosion of democratic governance in the country. Addressing a press conference, Mr. Khera said even more alarming was the initial attempt to appoint, as Sudheer’s replacement, the very judicial officer who had ordered the controversial survey of the Jama Masjid that had preceded the Sambhal violence. “Although this appointment was reversed within 48 hours following public outrage and was quietly sent back to his original post, the episode itself lays bare the …