‘Shocked, but it’s a forgotten chapter’: CJI Gavai on shoe-attack in Supreme Court

“My learned brother (Justice Chandran) and I were very shocked with what happened on Monday… for us it is a forgotten chapter,” the CJI said during the hearing.

Justice Bhuyan, however, took a different view on how the accused advocate, 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,” Justice Bhuyan said. “I am not apologetic thereafter; it’s an affront to the institution.”

He 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.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also condemned the act, calling it “completely unpardonable” while lauding the CJI’s “magnanimity” in letting the offender go.

The incident occurred during mentioning hours on October 6, when the CJI was sitting with Justice Chandran. Though Kishore, 71, was briefly detained, he was released later that day after the CJI instructed the court’s Registrar General not to press charges.

Speaking to The Indian Express after the incident, CJI Gavai said nothing had hit him or his desk. “I only heard the sound. Maybe it fell on some table or somewhere… I only heard him say, ‘Maine Gavai saab ke taraf pheka tha (I had thrown it at CJI Gavai)’. Perhaps what he threw landed somewhere else and he was trying to explain,” he said.

“I told the lawyer who was arguing, you just ignore it. I am not distracted by all this. You also don’t be distracted and proceed further with the case,” the CJI added.

Delhi Police sources told The Indian Express that Kishore, during questioning, said he was “unhappy with the CJI’s remarks” during a recent hearing of a plea seeking restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol at the Khajuraho temple complex in Madhya Pradesh. He was released three hours later.

Subsequently, the Bar Council of India “suspended” Kishore from practice with immediate effect, citing conduct “inconsistent” with “the rules and the dignity of the court.”

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