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'On social media, we don't know…': What CJI said amid row over his Lord Vishnu remark
This came a day after Rakesh Kishore, a lawyer, attempted to hurl a shoe at CJI Gavai before he was restrained and escorted out by security personnel.
Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Tuesday expressed concern over how oral remarks made by judges during court proceedings are often misrepresented on social media. This came a day after Rakesh Kishore, a lawyer, attempted to hurl a shoe at CJI Gavai inside the Supreme Court before he was restrained and escorted out by security personnel.
CJI Gavai shared an anecdote about when he had stopped his colleague, Justice K Vinod Chandran, from making some remarks during an earlier hearing to prevent them from being misinterpreted on social media.
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“My learned brother (Justice K Vinod Chandran) had something to comment. I stopped him from expressing it when we were hearing the Dheeraj Mor case. Otherwise, on this social media, we do not know what will be reported. I requested my learned brother to restrict it only to my ears,” he said.
The remark came during a hearing filed by the All India Judges Association on issues concerning service conditions, pay scales, and career progression of judicial officers. The bench comprising the CJI and Justice Chandran referred the issue to a five-judge bench.
Attack on CJI Gavai
On Monday, an elderly lawyer attempted to hurl a shoe towards the CJI as he was unhappy with his remarks during a hearing last month regarding the restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol at the Khajuraho complex in Madhya Pradesh.
The CJI, who remained calm throughout the incident, asked court officials and security personnel to “just ignore” the incident and allowed the lawyer to leave with a warning.
“Don’t get distracted by all this. We are not distracted. These things do not affect me,” the CJI, seated alongside Justice K Vinod Chandran, told lawyers before continuing with the cases being mentioned.
As the lawyer was being taken away, he was heard shouting, “Sanatan ka apman nahi sahenge (We will not tolerate any insult to Sanatan).”
Dismissing the plea as a “publicity interest litigation”, the CJI had said, “This is purely publicity interest litigation... Go and ask the deity himself to do something. If you are saying that you are a strong devotee of Lord Vishnu, then you pray and do some meditation.”
In a clarification later, the CJI said that he respects all religions. “Someone told me the other day that the comments I made have been portrayed on social media in a certain manner... I respect all religions,” CJI Gavai said.
