NEW DELHI, Oct 8: The Police in Punjab have registered multiple first-information reports (FIRs) over allegedly casteist social media posts about Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday, two days after a shoe was hurled at the CJI in his court by a lawyer.
The shoe-thrower, 71-year-old Delhi lawyer Rakesh Kishore, has not faced any action yet as the CJI chose not to press charges. An activist has sought the Attorney General’s mandatory permission to initiate contempt-of-court charges against him.
But the Aam Aadmi Party, the ruling party of Punjab led by CM Bhagwant Mann, has been vocal on the issue with party chief Arvind Kejriwal condemning those continuing to abuse the CJI on social media.
“Cracking down hard on unlawful and objectionable social media content targeting the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, the Punjab Police today registered several FIRs after receipt of numerous complaints in various districts of the State on over a hundred social media handles,” a press note by the state government read, not yet sharing exact numbers of posts and FIRs.
It termed the posts a “direct attempt to disturb peace and public order by unjustly exploiting caste and communal sentiments,” and containing “casteist and hate-filled expressions intended to promote communal disharmony, disturb public order and erode respect for judicial institutions.”
FIRs have been registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989, and sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita “at various police stations on receipt of information disclosing the commission of cognizable offences.”
The police said further investigations are being conducted. According to a senior Punjab Police official, after registering the cases the Cyber Cell wing has also been told to start the process to immediately remove the content from various social media platforms by taking up the matter with the platforms concerned.
After Rakesh Kishore shoe hurling, caste-coded social-media attacks continued against the country’s judicial head, even as calls grow louder for exemplary action by the BJP-led central government.
Political leaders and activists sought action from the central government though the CJI has chosen not press charges against Rakesh Kishore. The ‘zero’ FIR in Bengaluru means a case registered for an alleged offence committed elsewhere, in this case in Delhi. It would now be transferred to Delhi Police as per process.
For the continuing abuse by some sections on social media, Artificial Intelligence has been deployed too. An AI-generated video showing the CJI with a blue face and an earthen pot hanging around his neck — depicting an age-old casteist practice whereby Dalits were not meant to let their spit touch the ground — emerged as a prime example of the continuing abuse. BR Gavai is only the second CJI who’s a Dalit, and the first from the Buddhist faith.
The apparently insulting video was posted just about four hours after the lawyer’s shoe-hurling attempt was reported on October 6, and continued to be online from the X account by the name Kikki Singh (@singh_kikki) as of 8 pm on October 8. It was re-shared over 2,300 times, liked over 5,000 times, and seen by nearly 800,000 people so far.
Referencing his caste background, controversial YouTubers and influencers like Ajeet Bharti, with lakhs of followers, made more posts blaming the CJI and praising the attacker who has been unapologetic. Ajeet Bharti was questioned by the Noida Police but not booked or arrested on Tuesday, but Punjab Police filed an FIR against him on Wednesday.’
On the day of the shoe-attack bid, Prime Minister Narendra spoke to the CJI and condemned the incident as one that “angered every Indian.” Multiple leaders from opposition parties have since questioned why Delhi Police did not act on their own, no matter that the CJI chose not to press charges.
Attacker Rakesh Kishore has since been at home, giving interviews justifying his act. He has cited ‘insult to Hinduism” as the trigger for his act, blaming the CJI’s remarks during a recent case hearing about a Hindu idol. The CJI had already clarified he did not mean any disrespect, and has since said social media kicked up the row.
But Kishore listed a host of other grouses too, all feeding into his theory that Hindus were not getting justice while others are.
Mr Kejriwal posted on X that the shoe-hurling “sent a chilling message to the entire judiciary.” “If anyone can get away with throwing shoe at CJI, then what to talk of other judges. Are other judges safe?” his post read, while noting that Justice Gavai showed “greatness” in not wanting a case against Kishore.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also said on Wednesday: “If such an ideology exists among the lawyers of the Supreme Court, it is an insult to the Constitution. The ideology that does not consider a human being as human is not in accordance with the Constitution. Those who talk of depriving people of their fundamental rights in the name of Manusmriti should be punished.”
Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also alleged casteism in why the Delhi Police under the central government did not file a suo motu case. He contrasted the “shamelessness” of Rakesh Kishore with the police action against Muslims protesting the removal of an ‘I Love Muhammad’ banner in UP’s Bareilly recently.
There were, meanwhile, protests outside Kishore’s Mayur Vihar home in Delhi; and some other cities also saw demonstrations by lawyers and Dalit groups. The Modi government has so far not made further statements after condemning the incident.
(Manas Dasgupta)