The Supreme Court on Thursday posted for the last week of October the contempt petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) against advocate Rakesh Kishore for hurling a shoe at Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai.

The court, however, wondered whether continuing the proceedings would only lead to more social media focus on the issue.

A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi felt that the matter should be ignored since CJI Gavai had himself chosen to forgive the advocate. SCBA president Vikas Singh and solicitor-general Tushar Mehta said the contempt petition should be taken up since Kishore had not shown any remorse, but rather chosen to defend his action.

Singh informed the bench that attorney-general R. Venkataramani had given his consent for the proceedings.

“This shoe-throwing incident cannot go unnoticed like this. This person has no remorse. I have sought consent from the attorney-general and the criminal contempt should be listed tomorrow. Social media has gone berserk,” Singh told the bench.

Justice Surya Kant said: “Hon’ble CJI has been magnanimous. It only shows the institution is not affected by these kinds of incidents. Just think, what will happen when you initiate this kind of proceedings? Social media, everything becomes a saleable item.”