Attempt to insult Chief Justice of India is condemnable; it is the result of an increasingly fanatic mindset.
What happened in the Supreme Court last Monday was extremely shameful. The insolence shown by a lawyer towards the Chief Justice of India Justice Bhushan Gavai -- was it merely the emotional outburst of one fanatic individual or does it reflect a growing mentality that poses a serious threat to our social fabric? The incident was so disturbing that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally spoke to Justice Bhushan Gavai.
As is now widely known, a 71-year-old lawyer named Rakesh Kishore attempted to hurl his shoe at the Chief Justice of India. Alert security personnel immediately restrained him. Justifying his disgraceful act, he declared, “Sanatan ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan!” This clearly revealed his mindset. The fact is that the Chief Justice of India did not hurt anyone’s religious sentiments at all. He has himself stated that he respects all religions. The background is that in the Javari Temple at Khajuraho, there is a seven-foot idol of Lord Vishnu. The idol’s hands, legs and torso are intact, but its head is missing. A person filed a petition seeking reconstruction of the idol’s head. Normally, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) preserves any ancient idol in the same condition as it was found.
Justice Bhushan Gavai’s Bench dismissed the petition, terming it a publicity-seeking plea, and observed that the statue should remain in its current state. The court even remarked that if the petitioner had no objection to Shaivism, he was free to worship at a Shiva temple instead. Following this, some fanatic YouTubers misquoted the Chief Justice of India and launched a malicious campaign against him. One such YouTuber made such vile and indecent comments that they are not even worth repeating here. Worse still, after the disgraceful act by lawyer Rakesh Kishore, another YouTuber, Ajit Bharti, wrote even more deplorable things -- going so far as to say that this is just the beginning. In an apparent attempt to threaten, he even invoked a mythological reference. Ajit Bharti also suggested on social media that people should gherao the Chief Justice of India’s car. Similarly, Kaushalesh Rai, who runs an organisation named Hindu Cafe, has spewed venom openly against the Chief Justice of India and issued direct threats. His posts even contained statements inciting lawyers to resort to violence.
The most astonishing thing is that even as acts of insolence against Justice Bhushan Gavai continued openly on social media, our administrative machinery failed to take any action. I fully agree that in a democracy, freedom of expression is every citizen’s constitutional right. But the question is, can anyone be given the freedom to issue threats? When the Chief Justice of India is being openly threatened on social media and yet no officer in the government or administration is even taking note, it is natural to be suspicious. It is also natural to believe that the attempt to insult Justice Bhushan Gavai was the outcome of this very negligence. Indeed, it is a well-planned conspiracy. Had timely action been taken against people like Ajit Bharti and Kaushalesh Rai, no one like Rakesh Kishore would have dared to behave in such a despicable manner.
Attempts to intimidate courts and judges have occurred in other parts of the world too. In Mexico, drug cartels tried hard to terrorise the judiciary. The situation improved only after the government took a firm stand. In Pakistan, General Musharraf made repeated efforts to intimidate the then Chief Justice. Recently, we saw in the United States how Donald Trump tried to put pressure on the courts.
In my view, this attempt to attack Justice Bhushan Gavai is nothing but an effort to intimidate our judicial system. The first principle of fanaticism is fear. Such people believe that only their views are correct and that no one has the right to question them. It is crucial to rein in such elements before it is too late. However, these individuals must understand that the Indian judiciary is both fearless and dignified. Consider this -- even after such a serious incident, Justice Bhushan Gavai remained completely calm and continued the court proceedings smoothly. This is a testament to his courage and sensitivity. His father, R S Gavai, served as a member of Parliament as well as a governor, while his mother, Kamla Gavai, is an exceptionally thoughtful woman. Justice Bhushan Gavai inherited courage and compassion from his parents. Having experienced social discrimination since childhood, he must surely have reflected on how narrow-minded the mentality of the man who tried to throw a shoe at him truly is.I want to state clearly once again that we, the people of India, strongly condemn the attempts to intimidate the judiciary. We are proud of the Chief Justice of India and we will never tolerate any insult directed at him.The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.