CJI BR Gavai Clarifies Remarks On Khajuraho Vishnu Idol Plea, Says He Respects All Religions

Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Thursday clarified that he holds respect for “all religions” after comments made by him during a hearing on the reconstruction of a Lord Vishnu idol drew criticism on social media.

“Someone told me the other day that the comments I made have been portrayed in social media... I respect all religions,” the CJI said, according to PTI.

A bench of CJI Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran had on 16 May dismissed a petition seeking directions to reconstruct and reinstall a seven-foot idol of Lord Vishnu at the Javari Temple, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Khajuraho complex in Madhya Pradesh. The plea, filed by Rakesh Dalal, sought replacement and consecration of the damaged idol at the Javari Temple in Chhatarpur district.

The bench termed it a “publicity interest litigation”. “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 CJI had remarked. He had further said, “In the meantime, if you are not averse to Shaivism, you can go and worship there… there is a very big linga of Shiva, one of the biggest in Khajuraho.”

The observations drew sharp reactions online, with various posts criticising the court.

When the CJI referred to being misquoted over the matter, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta intervened in court to defend him. Mehta said he had known Justice Gavai for over a decade and that the CJI visited all places of worship with equal reverence. “We used to learn Newton’s law – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Now with the advent of social media, we have a new rule – for every action, there is wrong and disproportionate social media overreaction,” PTI reported him as saying. He described the controversy as “unfortunate” and based on “totally incorrect information”, stressing that something taken “completely out of context” had been wrongly attributed to the CJI.

Justice Vinod Chandran, who was also on the bench in the Khajuraho matter, commented on the damaging impact of misinformed social media posts, recalling his own experience of having to recuse himself in a case because of such developments. “Social media,” he said, “was in fact anti-social media.”

Senior advocate Sanjay Nul, who appeared for the petitioner in the Khajuraho matter, too raised concerns about misleading posts, making clear that the CJI had never said what was attributed to him online.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, present in the courtroom, remarked, “We suffer everyday, it’s an unruly horse, no way to tame it.”

The CJI also referred to the recent violent protests in Nepal while reflecting on the spread and consequences of misinformation through online platforms.

(With inputs from PTI)