“Opinion | Statue, Faith, And A Shoe: Has Hindu Patience Become A Burden?”, News 18, October 07, 2025
“A lawyer attempted to hurl his shoe at Chief Justice of India BR Gavai. The elderly lawyer was thwarted mid-act. The act was unprecedented, a shocking recourse to violence that has no place in a democracy. The CJI has decided not to take action, even though the lawyer remains unapologetic.
The lawyer, who goes by the name of Dr Rakesh Kishore, says he was triggered by the CJI’s oral observations during a hearing a few weeks ago. The CJI chided a petitioner, asking him to “go and ask the deity itself to do something,” adding, “You say you are a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu.” The CJI was clearly upset that the petitioner had the temerity to approach the top court, hoping that it would intervene and order the Archaeological Survey of India to restore a mutilated statue of Lord Vishnu. The petitioner had claimed that his religious rights were violated, as he was forced to pray to the defaced statue placed in a temple that was part of the Khajuraho cluster in Madhya Pradesh. Historical records show that the statue bore the brunt of Islamist anti-Hindu iconoclasm during Mughal invasions.
Dr Kishore says he was one among many observers who felt the CJI had crossed the line, not least because the reason cited by him was deficient in judicial reasoning. In fact, it is plain to see that the ground for dismissing the petitioner’s prayer is founded in prejudice and not in law. Many hurt Hindus asked, if the Supreme Court is urging petitioners to appeal straight to a God for justice, why does anyone need the courts……”
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