Shoe thrown at India's chief justice over remark about Hindu god

BR Gavai reportedly made remarks about the Hindu god Vishnu

Chief Justice of India BR Gavai rejected a plea for a damaged statue of Hindu god Vishnu to be replaced. Getty Images

A lawyer threw a shoe at India's Chief Justice BR Gavai in the Supreme Court on Monday over remarks he made about the Hindu god Vishnu.

The lawyer approached the raised platform where Mr Gavai was sitting on Monday and threw the shoe, the BBC reported.

Mr Gavai had reportedly said in a recent court proceeding that a man filing a plea seeking the replacement of a damaged statue of the god should “go and ask the deity himself to do something”. The court rejected the plea.

Three lawyers present in the courtroom told the BBC that a shoe had been thrown at the judge, with one saying it “brushed against the chief justice and [another] justice … and fell behind them”.

Mr Gavai, who is to retire next month as India's top judge, asked the court to continue proceedings as his attacker was led away, legal website LiveLaw said.

LiveLaw said it was not clear whether the object in the attacker's hand was a shoe or a roll of paper.

“We will not tolerate any insult to Sanatan Dharma,” the attacker, whose name was not given in reports on the incident, shouted as he was being led out, using another name for Hinduism, the Hindustan Times reported.

Last month, Mr Gavai said that the remarks he had made in court about the god were misconstrued and that he respected all religions.

An association of Supreme Court lawyers condemned Monday's incident and demanded that the court initiate proceedings against the lawyer involved.

“This behaviour is antithetical to the dignity of the legal profession and contrary to the constitutional values of decorum, discipline and institutional integrity,” the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association said.

India's Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the attack was a result of misinformation on social media.

“I have personally seen Chief Justice visiting religious places of all religions with full reverence,” Mr Mehta told Reuters.