Lawyer tries to hurl shoe at CJI in SC courtroom, BCI suspends license

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) In a shocking security breach, a 71-year-old lawyer allegedly attempted to hurl a shoe towards Chief Justice of India B R Gavai in his courtroom in the Supreme Court on Monday, prompting the Bar Council of India to suspend his license with immediate effect.

The CJI, who remained unfazed during and after the unprecedented incident during the court proceedings, asked the court officials and the security personnel present inside the courtroom to “just ignore” it and to let off the errant lawyer identified as Rakesh Kishore with a warning.

"Don't get distracted by all this. We are not distracted. These things do not affect me," the CJI, who was sitting on the bench with Justice K Vinod Chandran, told lawyers and continued hearing the mentioning of cases.

Bar bodies, SCBA and SCAORA, and lawyers including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and political parties strongly condemned the incident as "an attack on the Constitution and the institution as a whole". Police said Kishore was aged 71.

Kishore, a resident of Mayur Vihar here, was questioned for three hours by Delhi police officials inside the apex court premises and was later allowed to go at 2 PM as no formal complaint was lodged. Police also returned his shoes to him.

Police sources said a note, containing the slogan ‘Sanatan dharma ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan’ (India will not tolerate insults to Sanatan Dharma), was recovered by the police from his possession.

"We also found that he was carrying a card of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and the Shahdara Bar Association. While questioning Kishore, the team asked him about his motive for his act. The advocate has claimed that he was unhappy with the CJI’s remarks during a recent hearing of a plea seeking the restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol in the Khajuraho Temple complex in Madhya Pradesh," the sources said.

According to lawyers, the incident occurred when the CJI-led bench was hearing the mentioning of cases by lawyers.

Kishore approached the dais on a raised platform, removed his shoe and tried to throw it towards the judges.

Alert security personnel present inside the courtroom immediately intervened and foiled an apparent attack.

The lawyer was swiftly escorted out of the court premises. As he was being taken away, the lawyer was heard shouting, "Sanatan ka apman nahi sahenge" (will not tolerate insults to Sanatan Dharma).

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in a statement, said it is not just an attack on the CJI but on our Constitution and no words are enough to condemn such an act.

"No words are adequate to condemn the attack on the Honourable Chief Justice of India in the Supreme Court itself. It is an assault not just on him but on our Constitution as well. Chief Justice Gavai has been very gracious but the nation must stand in solidarity with him unitedly with a deep sense of anguish and outrage," she said.

"An attempt to attack the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India in the Supreme Court today is unprecedented, shameful and abhorrent. It is an attack on the dignity of our Judiciary and the rule of law," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta described the act as "unfortunate and condemnable", calling it a result of misinformation and an attempt at cheap publicity.

"Today's incident in the chief justice's court is unfortunate and deserves condemnation. This is the result of misinformation in social media. It is really heartening that the chief justice of India reacted with magnanimity.... I only hope that this magnanimity is not treated by others as the weakness of the institution," the top law officer said.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising termed the episode "an attack on the institution as a whole".

"I am not an eyewitness to the incident. What I know, I know from what the press has reported. It calls for investigation. I consider it to be an attack on the institution as a whole, not just the chief justice," she said.

The Supreme Court Bar Association(SCBA) expressed its “profound shock, outrage, and unequivocal condemnation” over what it termed a “reprehensible act” committed by an advocate inside CJI’s courtroom.

In a strongly worded resolution passed unanimously, the SCBA described the advocate’s conduct as “utterly unbecoming of an officer of the Court” and said it “strikes at the very foundation of mutual respect that underpins the relationship between the Bench and the Bar.” The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association(SCAORA) described the incident as a "disrespectful and intemperate gesture" by an advocate.

The Bar Council of India(BCI) swung into action and swiftly ordered immediate suspension of Rakesh Kishore.

Issuing the interim suspension order, BCI chairperson and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra said the advocate’s act was “prima facie inconsistent with the dignity of the court” and in clear violation of the professional conduct rules prescribed under the Advocates Act, 1961 and Bar Council of India Rules.

“On the basis of prima facie material, it appears that at about 11.35 am on 6 October 2025, in Court No. 1 of the Supreme Court of India, you i.e. Advocate Rakesh Kishore, enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi vide enrolment nos..., removed your sports shoes and attempted to hurl them towards the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India during ongoing proceedings, whereupon you were detained by security,” the BCI said.

According to sources, the incident could be linked to the lawyer's unhappiness over the CJI's remarks during a hearing last month concerning the restoration of a Vishnu idol in Khajuraho.

A bench headed by the CJI had dismissed the plea seeking directions to reconstruct and reinstall a seven-foot idol of Lord Vishnu at the Javari temple, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Khajuraho temple complex in Madhya Pradesh.

Terming the plea 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." Taking note of the online criticism of his comments, the CJI later said he respects "all religions". PTI SJK SSJ BM GSN SJK GSN GSN