Is the attack on CJI due to irresponsible & malodorous verbatim reporting of Live Courtroom Proceedings ?

New Delhi: The unfortunate incident occurred in Courtroom No.1 of the Supreme Court of India on 6th of October 2025, where an object was thrown at the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, is deeply shocking and condemnable. The advocate who committed this act remains completely unapologetic and shows no remorse for what he has done. However debatable issue is that, that the most of Advocates present in the Courtroom No.1 at the time of incident claimed that the thing hurled at Hon'ble CJI was a thick long paper roll and it's all by misreporting of some particular Courtroom proceedings live reporting platforms who spread the disputed fake news of shoe thrown at CJI instead of paper roll.

That advocate involved even had the audacity to claim that his actions were "larger than life." In doing so, he not only marked that day as one of the darkest in the history of the Indian legal system but also raised serious concerns about non-practising advocates who falsely portray themselves as practising lawyers in the Supreme Court.

It is a testament to the large-heartedness and high stature of our Chief Justice of India, the Hon’ble Chief Justice Bhushan Gavai, that he chose to forgive the individual for both his grave misconduct and the crime committed inside the Courtroom. Chief Justice Gavai remained entirely unfazed and clearly stated that such antics or anybody's opinion would not affect him in any way.

This act was nothing but a mixture of political theatrics and a desperate publicity stunt as the old hindi saying goes, “Badnaam huye toh kya hua, naam toh hua.”( Doesn't matter if one goes infamous, atleast the name is spreaded over everywhere).

The entire legal fraternity is in a state of shock and anguish. This was not just an attack on The Chief Justice of India but a direct affront to the highest legal authority of the nation - the custodian of the Constitution, the Supreme Court of India.

From the Attorney General to the most fresh lawyer in India, there has been unified condemnation of the said advocate's illegal actions. It was pleasant to see that both the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister expressed serious concern over this grave lapse in security.
In particular, it was heartening to know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally spoke with the Chief Justice Gavai over the phone regarding this matter.

Though the CJI Gavai chose not to escalate the issue further, but the Bar Council of India acted rightly and swiftly by suspending the license of the advocate in question and Attorney General for India has granted the permission to initiate the Contempt procedures against him. 
In my view, his license should be permanently cancelled, and he should be barred from entering any court of law or tribunal across the country.

Now, I believe it is high time that the Bar and the Bench, along with other key stakeholders including the Union Government, State Governments, and judicial bodies come together to discuss and arrive at a concrete solution. The focus must be on strengthening court security and most importantly addressing the menace of scandalous and misleading media narratives, and curbing the growing trend of individuals openly abusing the Judiciary, Solicitors, and Advocates under the guise of free speech or activism on social media and publicly as well. This advocate is not alone and many alike claims that they had read about the live courtroom proceedings reporting and were upset by the observations made by Hon'ble CJI Gavai.

I have serious reservations and concerns over media's misrepresentation of Live Legal & Courtroom Proceedings. It is deeply disheartening to witness how such platforms especially on Twitter (X) and other social media that cover live courtroom proceedings often intentionally sensationalize Judicial observations and statements made by Judges or Advocates. This is done purely to attract more traffic and views at the cost of misrepresenting the Court’s intent.

This trend poses a serious threat to the sanctity of our judicial system. Such reporting not only undermines the authority and structure of the courts but also interferes with the privileged communication between judges and lawyers, and between lawyers and clients. In doing so, these platforms exploit the transparency of our democratic system, the independence of Judiciary and turn it into a mockery. These platforms are acting more like instigators rather than informative helpful instrument. The present attack on CJI is it's prime example, followed by series of vile tweets and comments for the Judges and the Courts.

I strongly urge the Union Government of India to consider enacting stringent legislation to regulate such actions. There is an urgent need to restrict such inexperienced crowd of people masquerading as legal journalists of such platforms that scandalize sensitive matters, including cases of national importance, those involving UAPA/NSA, or cases concerning national security. They with very poor legal knowledge and collocquialism are concerning threat for the reputation of both the Government and the Judiciary.

These platforms often twist courtroom arguments, take Judge’s / Bench's observations out of context, and sensationalize them all without cross check and clarifying that such observations are not binding Judgment(s) and are not public record, but rather part of the natural course of arguments and hearings. The Apex Court should immediately ban all type of this live verbatim courtroom reporting/tweeting and  such so-called ignorant journalists and portals with half-baked knowledge should be held strictly accountable. We can hardly find knowledgeable legal journalists in India with just couple of few exceptions of independent legal-investigative journalists who actually covers the real legal issues, lacunae and solutions of legal administration in the nation with a strong reproachable working style.

I sincerely hope that both the Government and the Judiciary with other stakeholders treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves and work together to ensure that such unfortunate incidents are never repeated. The dignity of the Courts, the trust of the public, and the sanctity of the legal profession must be preserved at all costs.

Author: ILIN SARASWAT (Advocate, Supreme Court of India).

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of LawStreet Journal.