SC says it is not inclined to initiate contempt action against lawyer for attack on chief justice

The Supreme Court on Monday said it was not inclined to initiate contempt action against advocate Rakesh Kishore, who allegedly attempted to throw a shoe at Chief Justice BR Gavai on October 6, PTI reported.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi noted that Gavai himself had earlier refused to pursue the matter against the advocate. The bench also questioned whether it could initiate contempt proceedings against Kishore when the chief justice himself had chosen to pardon the act.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association seeking criminal contempt action against Kishore, Live Law reported.

On October 6, Kishore allegedly tried to throw a shoe at Gavai and accused him of insulting Hinduism. Kishore said he was angered by the chief justice’s remarks on the restoration of a beheaded idol of Hindu deity Vishnu, and on the Supreme Court judgement holding punitive demolitions as unconstitutional.

Despite the interruption, Gavai remained calm, instructed the court to proceed, and later described the event as a “forgotten chapter”.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court Bar Association filed a petition seeking criminal contempt proceedings against Kishore. During an earlier hearing on October 16, the court said that it was better to let the attack “die a natural death” rather than fuel its “monetisation” on social media.

On Monday, Advocate Vikas Singh, representing the...

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