‘It’s a forgotten..’: Chief Justice Gavai breaks silence on shoe attack in Supreme Court

Chief Justice of India, Justice BR Gavai, said on Thursday that he was “shocked” when a lawyer threw a shoe at him in the Supreme Court. Speaking about the incident for the first time, the Chief Justice called it a “forgotten chapter,” saying, “My colleague and I were very shocked by what happened on Monday, but for us, it is now a closed matter.” According to Live Law, Justice Gavai made the comment during a discussion with advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who mentioned a similar incident that took place about ten years ago. “I even wrote an article about it,” Sankaranarayanan said, recalling how two judges back then had taken different views on the proper procedure for using contempt powers.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, who was also on the bench, strongly condemned the incident, saying, “I have my own views on this. He is the Chief Justice of India, this is not a matter of joke! I am not apologetic about it; it’s an insult to the institution.”

Justice Bhuyan’s remarks referred to Chief Justice Gavai’s decision not to take any further legal action against the accused, a 71-year-old lawyer named Rakesh Kishore.

The incident took place on Monday when Kishore allegedly tried to throw a shoe at CJI Gavai during a Supreme Court hearing.

Reports suggest that the lawyer was upset over remarks made by the Chief Justice last month during a case related to the restoration of a Vishnu idol in Khajuraho. In September, a bench led by CJI Gavai had dismissed a plea seeking directions to rebuild and reinstall a seven-foot idol of Lord Vishnu at the Javari Temple, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Khajuraho complex in Madhya Pradesh.

Calling the plea a “publicity interest litigation,” the Chief Justice had said, “This is purely publicity interest litigation… Go and ask the deity himself to do something. If you are a strong devotee of Lord Vishnu, then pray and meditate.”

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