The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will appoint Chief Justice of India (CJI) B. R. Not inclined to initiate contempt proceedings against the lawyer who threw the shoe towards Gavai. The Court said that the CJI himself had refused to take action against him.
A bench headed by Justice Surya Kant said that issuing the contempt notice would be giving undue importance to it. It would be better if this dispute ends on its own.
The court bench said that since this contempt took place directly in the court, the concerned judge i.e. Chief Justice had the right to take action in it, but he chose not to take any action. However, the court said that guidelines will be issued to prevent such incidents. The court has sought suggestions in this regard from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh.
Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh had sought permission to file a contempt case against Rakesh Kishore. Vikas Singh had said that the shoe throwing incident cannot be ignored because lawyer Rakesh Kishore has no remorse. After this, Attorney General R. Venkataramani had given his consent to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Rakesh Kishore on October 16.
Actually, a lawyer named Rakesh Kishore had thrown a shoe towards the CJI in the court room of Chief Justice BR Gavai on the morning of 6 October, but the shoe could not reach the Chief Justice. The Delhi Police constable present in the court room at the time of the incident caught him immediately. When the police was taking him from the court room, he said loudly, “India will not tolerate insult to Sanatan Dharma.” Rakesh Kishore is 71 years old. He was hurt by Chief Justice Gavai’s statement in which he had commented on Lord Vishnu. After this incident, lawyers’ organizations had also demonstrated before the Supreme Court condemning it.