The lawyer who allegedly threw a shoe at Chief Justice BR Gavai inside the Supreme Court on Monday morning was released from police custody three hours after questioning, The Indian Express reported.

The Delhi Police let Rakesh Kishore go after the Supreme Court registrar general declined to press charges against him.

The registrar general also directed the police to return the shoes and documents that had been seized from the lawyer, The Indian Express reported.

According to the police, a handwritten note was recovered from Kishore that read: “Mera sandesh har Sanatani ke liye hai… Sanatan dharma ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan” (“My message is for all Sanatanis… India will not tolerate the disrespect to Sanatan Dharma”), The Indian Express reported.

Sanatan Dharma is a term some use as a synonym for Hinduism.

On Tuesday, Kishore told ANI that the chief justice “should think that when he is sitting on such a high constitutional post, he should understand the meaning of ‘Milord’ and uphold its dignity”.

“You go to Mauritius and say that the country will not run with a bulldozer,” he told ANI. “I ask the CJI and those opposing me: Is the bulldozer action by Yogi ji against those who encroached on government property wrong?...I am hurt and will continue to be so.”

Kishore seemed to be referencing a comment by Gavai on Friday where he said that the Supreme Court in a November 2024 ruling “sent a clear message that the Indian legal system is governed by the rule of law, not by the rule of the bulldozer,” The Indian Express reported.

In November, the Supreme Court had held as illegal the practice of demolishing properties of persons accused of crimes as a punitive measure. It said that processes must be followed before removing allegedly illegal encroachments.

There are no provisions in Indian law that allow for the demolition of property as a punitive measure. However, the practice has become commonplace in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states.

On Monday, Kishore had allegedly tried to throw a shoe at Gavai while shouting a slogan accusing him of insulting Hinduism.

He appeared to have been angered by a statement made by the chief justice on September 16 while hearing a plea seeking the restoration of a beheaded idol of Hindu deity Vishnu at Madhya Pradesh’s Khajuraho.

While dismissing the plea Gavai had said at the time: “This is purely publicity interest litigation. Go and ask the deity himself to do something. If you are saying that you are a strong devotee of Lord Vishnu, then you pray and do some meditation.”

The court had said that the matter fell within the jurisdiction of the Archeological Survey of India.

The remarks had sparked criticism on social media.

On Monday, Kishore, in an apparent reference to Gavai’s statement from September 16, had reportedly shouted: “Sanatan Dharma ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan (India will not tolerate disrespect towards Sanatan Dharma).”

After the attempted attack, the Bar Council of India suspended Kishore’s license to practice with immediate effect, and initiated disciplinary proceedings against him. The order said that his conduct was inconsistent with the rules and the dignity of the court.

PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi condemn attack

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the attack on Gavai had “angered every Indian”.

In a social media post, Modi said that there was no place for such “reprehensible acts” in society.

The prime minister also appreciated that Gavai remained calm despite the attempted attack, and said this showed his commitment to justice.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also said that the attempted attack on Gavai was an “assault on the dignity of our judiciary and the spirit of our Constitution”.

“Such hatred has no place in our nation and must be condemned,” the Congress leader said in a social media post.