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'Why give importance': SC against contempt notice to lawyer who hurled shoe at CJI
The Supreme Court cited CJI BR Gavai's refusal to press any charges against the lawyer who hurled the and asking officials to “just ignore” the episode.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked whether Rakesh Kishore, the lawyer who hurled a shoe at Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, should be given “undue importance” by initiating contempt proceedings against him.
Hearing arguments in the case, Justice Surya Kant observed, “Such kind of persons have no stake in the system. Giving any undue importance to a person who does not deserve it… we will look at it with the same magnanimity that the CJI has shown.”
The observation came as the court referred to CJI Gavai’s decision to not press any charges against Kishore, having told court officials at the time of the incident to “just ignore” the episode.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the Supreme Court was not inclined to initiate contempt action against the lawyer, noting that issuing a contempt notice would only prolong an incident that deserved to fade away.
“Shouting slogans in court and hurling shoes are clear cases of contempt of court, but it all depends on the judge concerned under the law whether to proceed or not,” the bench said.
The court further remarked that “issuing contempt notice will only give undue importance to the lawyer who hurled the shoe at the CJI and would increase the shelf life of the incident.” It added that the matter should be allowed to “die its own natural death.”
The bench was hearing a plea by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) seeking contempt action against the 71-year-old advocate, who had thrown a shoe toward the Chief Justice during proceedings on October 6.
The incident prompted the Bar Council of India to suspend Kishore’s licence with immediate effect. Despite the commotion, CJI Gavai remained unfazed, continuing with the proceedings and directing security personnel not to take any punitive action.
The top court said it would consider laying down guidelines to prevent such incidents in the future, and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to collect information on similar episodes reported in other courts.
Earlier, on October 16, the Supreme Court had cautioned that the right to speech and expression cannot be exercised at the cost of others’ dignity and integrity, warning of the dangers of “unregulated” social media and labelling such disruptive incidents as “money-spinning ventures.”
The shoe-throwing episode drew widespread condemnation across the legal community and beyond, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly speaking to the CJI after the incident.
