Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Thursday said he and Justice K Vinod Chandran were shocked when a lawyer tried to throw a shoe at them on October 6, but the issue is now a “forgotten chapter”.
The incident took place on Monday when the bench led by the Chief Justice was hearing the cases mentioned by the lawyers. The accused, 71-year-old lawyer Rakesh Kishore, took out his shoe and tried to throw it towards the judges. This act was widely condemned.
The Chief Justice made this comment during the hearing of petitions seeking review and amendment of the judgment in the Vanashakti case. On the incident of shoe throwing attempt, the Chief Justice said, “I and my learned colleague (Justice Chandran) are deeply shocked by what happened on Monday; For us this is a forgotten chapter.
Justice Ujjwal Bhuyan, who was also on the bench, disagreed with the action taken against the convicted lawyer and said, “I have my own views on this, he is the Chief Justice, this is no joke!” Justice Bhuiyan said the incident was an “insult to the Supreme Court” and appropriate action should be taken in this regard.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta called this act unforgivable.
The top law officer praised the generosity and “greatness” of the Chief Justice. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, present in the court, asked senior advocate Gopal Shankaranarayanan to proceed with the hearing and not to discuss the shocking episode further. The Chief Justice reiterated, “For us this is a forgotten chapter”. After this the bench started hearing the case.