Bengaluru police book 5 social media users for posting derogatory messages about CJI B R Gavai

The action follows the registration of a zero FIR by Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha police against advocate Rakesh Kishore, who attempted to hurl footwear at Justice B R Gavai inside the Supreme Court.

By: Express News Service

Bengaluru | October 12, 2025 01:24 PM IST

3 min read

The police action follows Wednesday's registration of a zero FIR by the Vidhana Soudha police against 71-year-old advocate Rakesh Kishore. (File Photo)

The Bengaluru cybercrime police booked five social media users for allegedly posting derogatory content about Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, following an incident where a Delhi lawyer attempted to throw a shoe at him in the Supreme Court.

The accused—Kesari Nandan, Sridharkumar, Nagendra Prasad, Ramesh Naik, and Manunath M C Manju—face charges under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 352 for intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace.

The case was registered suo motu after the police’s social media monitoring cell discovered the comments on Facebook. One account posted in Kannada suggesting violence, referencing Godse, while others made personal attacks and used profanity against the CJI, the police said.

The police action follows Wednesday’s registration of a zero FIR by the Vidhana Soudha police against 71-year-old advocate Rakesh Kishore, who attempted to hurl footwear at Justice Gavai inside the Supreme Court on October 6. He was briefly detained and released later that day after Justice Gavai instructed the court’s registrar-general not to press charges.

Kishore has said he was “unhappy” with Justice Gavai’s remarks made during a hearing of a plea seeking the restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol at the Khajuraho temple complex in Madhya Pradesh. He was heard shouting, “Sanatan ka apman nahi sahenge (We will not tolerate the insult to Sanatan Dharma)”, when he allegedly hurled the shoe at Justice Gavai.

However, Justice Gavai recently said that though it shocked him, it was now “a forgotten chapter”. “My learned brother (Justice K Vinod Chandran) and I were very shocked with what happened on Monday… for us it is a forgotten chapter,” he said during the hearing.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, who was also part of the bench, took a different view on how Rakesh Kishore should have been dealt with. “I have my own views on this. He is the Chief Justice of India. It’s not a matter of joke,” he said. “I am not apologetic thereafter; it’s an affront to the institution.”

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Justice Bhuyan added, “As judges over the years, we will do a lot of things which others may not think are justifiable, but that does not change our opinion about what we did.”

The Bar Council of India has suspended Kishore from practice with immediate effect.

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