New Delhi, Oct. 17 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the incident involving an advocate's attempt to hurl a shoe at Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai earlier this month should be allowed to die a "natural death" rather than being kept alive on social media or by "publicity hungry" individuals, even as it agreed to examine whether contempt proceedings should be initiated against the 71-year-old lawyer, Rakesh Kishore, after the Diwali break. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi made the observation while hearing a mentioning by senior advocate Vikas Singh, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), who urged the top court to take suo motu cognisance and initiate contempt proceedings against Kishore for his act and for remaining unapologetic about it. Singh pointed out that social media platforms were repeatedly circulating the episode, giving it unnecessary traction. "We are not against freedom of speech, but when such rights are exercised at the cost of the institution's integrity and dignity, it assumes a different dimension," the bench observed. It added: "Our request to everyone is also to consider whether raking up the issue will help in reviving and giving fillip to publicity-hungry individuals...Let it die a natural death. Let it meet its fate with the contempt it deserves." Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that Attorney General R Venkataramani had already granted his consent for initiating contempt proceedings, saying the incident had affected the institutional integrity of the court. "Social media platforms are popularising and even supporting such acts. It is a matter of institutional integrity," said Mehta, backing Singh's request. The bench, however, noted that CJI Gavai himself had shown "magnanimity" by ignoring the episode and asking others to do the same. The bench cautioned that reviving the issue might serve only to amplify it. "Allow it to have a natural death. One of the ways is to make it face the same contempt and die on its own," remarked the bench, warning that contempt proceedings could end up creating "another episode" and feed the social media cycle. "Unfortunately, many of these portals have become money-spinning ventures. Algorithms are programmed to exploit our basal instincts and to monetise outrage. The moment we initiate proceedings, it will be monetised again," observed the bench, urging lawyers not to "cooperate in monetising it." The bench also reflected on the need to preserve institutional dignity through conduct rather than punitive measures. "It is for us and our behaviour in court that we survive and get the respect of the people. That is the spirit the honourable CJI exhibited when he brushed it aside as an action of an irresponsible citizen," the bench underscored. As Singh and Mehta insisted that the matter requires consideration, Justice Kant agreed to consider the issue later, saying it would wait for a week and see if the matter still persisted in public discourse before taking a call. "Let us wait for a week and see if it still persists. We will hear it in the week after the Diwali break," Justice Kant said....