Religious Bias Allegations: Owaisi Questions Differential Treatment in Supreme Court Shoe-Throwing Incident

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi (File).

New Delhi:

In an unexpected turn of events, Rakesh Kishore, an elderly man who threw his shoe at Supreme Court Chief Justice BR Gavai while shouting 'India won't tolerate insult of Sanatan Dharma', was released without any charges. Delhi Police even returned his shoe after the incident that occurred on Monday morning.

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi strongly criticized this lenient treatment on Wednesday, suggesting clear religious bias in how authorities handled the case. "Delhi Police did not arrest the accused because his name is Rakesh Kishore," Owaisi stated firmly. "If his name was not Rakesh but 'Asad', what would Delhi Police have done?"

Owaisi particularly emphasized the significance that Chief Justice Gavai belongs to the Dalit community. "The Chief Justice of India is a Dalit by caste and I want to ask my Dalit brothers - a man throws a shoe at the Chief Justice in his court... what is going on? The perpetrator claimed 'India won't tolerate the insult of Sanatan Dharma'... but where did he find the courage to throw a shoe at the Chief Justice?"

He questioned the police response further, asking, "Why did the police not invoke UAPA?" referring to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, India's stringent anti-terror legislation. "If the accused were called 'Asad', BJP would have linked him to the neighboring country," Owaisi added, implying Pakistan would have been mentioned.

Currently preparing his party for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election, Owaisi also referenced recent court verdicts regarding mosques, noting, "but we did not pick up the shoe."

Kishore, speaking on Tuesday, expressed no regret for his actions. "I did not do it; God did. The Chief Justice mocked Sanatan Dharma. This was the Almighty's order, a reaction to an action," he declared.

Although the shoe did not reach the Chief Justice, security personnel quickly removed Kishore from the premises. Chief Justice Gavai instructed authorities to release him, saying, "I am the last person to be affected by such things..."

The incident occurred after the Chief Justice's comment regarding Lord Vishnu. When refusing judicial intervention for reconstructing an idol, he had remarked, "Go and ask the deity himself to do something." This statement drew criticism, prompting the Chief Justice to later clarify, "Someone told that the comments I made have been portrayed on social media in a certain manner. I respect all religions."