Following a complaint lodged by a court staff member, the Cheranmahadevi police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Published Oct 08, 2025 | 4:16 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 08, 2025 | 4:16 PM
Indian judiciary. (iStock)
Synopsis: When Magistrate Arunkumaran postponed the hearing to another date, Dharmendra Singh suddenly threw his slipper at the magistrate, creating a commotion inside the courtroom. Following a complaint lodged by a court staff member, the Cheranmahadevi police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Days after attack on Chief Justice of India BR Gavai in Supreme Court, another dramatic incident occurred at the Cheranmahadevi (Tirunelveli) court, on Tuesday, 7 October, when Dharmendra Singh (40) from Uttar Pradesh, who had been arrested in connection with a temple donation box theft case, was produced before the court.
When Magistrate Arunkumaran postponed the hearing to another date, Dharmendra Singh suddenly threw his slipper at the magistrate, creating a commotion inside the courtroom. Following a complaint lodged by a court staff member, the Cheranmahadevi police have launched an investigation into the incident.
On Monday, 6 October, the Supreme Court of India witnessed a rare breach. Rakesh Kishore, a 71-year-old Delhi-based advocate, attempted to throw a shoe at Chief Justice of India BR Gavai during proceedings in Courtroom Number 1.
A resident of Delhi’s Mayur Vihar and a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Kishore was reportedly upset with the CJI’s remarks during a recent hearing on the restoration of a Lord Vishnu idol at the Khajuraho Temple complex in Madhya Pradesh.
On 16 September, presiding alongside Justice K Vinod Chandran, CJI Gavai dismissed a plea for reconstructing a dilapidated 7-foot Vishnu idol at the Javari Temple in Khajuraho, stating, “This 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.”
CJI Gavai later clarified, “I believe in all the religions, I respect all the (religions),” stressing that his comments were in the context of the Archaeological Survey of India’s jurisdiction over the temple’s upkeep.
He was immediately detained by security personnel. While being escorted out, he allegedly shouted, “Sanatan dharma ka apmaan nahi sahega Hindustan (India will not tolerate the insult of Sanatan dharma).”
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Subash Chandra Bose)
