An apparently bigoted lawyer’s attempt to throw a shoe at Chief Justice of India Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai when the Supreme Court was in session came as a shock to the whole nation. The assailant was heard saying, “India will not tolerate any disrespect towards Sanatana Dharma,” ostensibly alluding to the CJI’s recent remarks on a plea seeking restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol in the Khajuraho Temple complex in Madhya Pradesh. Dismissing the plea, the CJI had told the petitioner, “Go and ask the deity himself to do something.” Even if it is argued that the CJI could have worded it better, his statement was protected by the constitutional right to free speech, a cornerstone of democracy. With the comment snowballing into a controversy, the CJI later clarified that he respects all religions. That is where the matter ought to have rested had better counsel prevailed. However, the would-be attacker, a ‘learned lawyer’ at 71 and a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association, did not have the maturity to internalise the first principles of Sanatana Dharma—abjuring violence and allowing a free exchange of thoughts.
What is outrageous is that the presiding officer of the highest court of the land was sought to be attacked for a perceived slight. Till now, right-wing violence was largely aimed at stray politicians and perceived offenders like those suspected of smuggling cattle. This incident can be seen as a product of the normalisation of religious intolerance on social media and toxic television debates whose finger-pointing compounds social stress. Ironically, the courtroom drama took place days after CJI Gavai spoke glowingly in Mauritius on the rule of law, constitutional governance and free speech in India.
The CJI was unperturbed and the Supreme Court registry did not press charges, letting the offender go after taking possession of his shoe, showing remarkable judicial grace. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up the CJI and called the attack reprehensible. “I appreciated the calm displayed by Justice Gavai in the face of such a situation,” he posted on X. The PM’s gesture possibly averted the weaponisation of the slur on caste lines ahead of the crucial Bihar polls. For its part, the Bar Council of India suspended the hothead’s licence. Such all-round proactivity is rare, but always welcome.