Shoe thrown at CJI Gavai: Incident sent a chilling message to the entire judiciary, says AAP chief Kejriwal

He alleged that “the manner in which Justice Gavai is being mocked and threatened on social media with impunity by their supporters” suggested an organised campaign to intimidate the courts.

“This seems to be a pre-planned and systematic attempt to browbeat and force the entire judiciary into submission. The judiciary must take action against these hooligans. Lack of action against them will undermine the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary,” he said.

Calling for “exemplary punishment”, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor added: “The man who attempted to throw the shoe and those threatening and mocking the CJI must be given exemplary punishment so that no one in future dares to mess with the judiciary.”

On Monday morning, Advocate Rakesh Kishore (71) allegedly took off his shoes and flung them towards CJI Gavai during mentioning hours inside Court number 1. The shoes did not hit the Chief Justice. Kishore was immediately escorted out by security personnel and later questioned by the Delhi Police.

The police said Kishore, a resident of Mayur Vihar, told them he acted because he was “unhappy” with CJI Gavai’s remarks during a September 16 hearing on a plea seeking restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol at the Khajuraho Temple complex in Madhya Pradesh. He was released the same day.

The lawyer has since given statements to news agencies, saying that he does not regret his actions and that he was guided by a “divine force”.

While the Chief Justice later said he told the courtroom to “just ignore” the incident, the act has drawn condemnation across party lines, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, opposition leaders from the Congress — Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi — and several Chief Ministers, who have described it as a “direct attack on democracy” and an “assault on the judiciary”.

The Delhi Police has said that Kishore was questioned for several hours before being released.

On Tuesday, Noida Police briefly detained YouTuber Ajeet Bharti for remarks he made about CJI Gavai in an online discussion weeks before the incident.

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