Bhushan urges SC to defer hearing of sentence on contempt of court

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who has been held guilty of criminal contempt for two derogatory tweets, has filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking deferment of the proceedings till a review petition is filed and considered. The SC will hear arguments today on his punishment, which can go up to six months in jail, or fine, or both.

Prashant Bhushan in his application said that he intended to file a petition seeking review of the 14 August order convicting him of contempt of court for derogatory tweets against the judiciary. On 14 August, the SC had held Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for his derogatory tweets about the CJI and his four predecessors. 

The SC had ruled that “Summary jurisdiction of this Court is required to be exercised not to vindicate the dignity and honour of the individual judge, who is personally attacked or scandalised, but to uphold the majesty of the law and of the administration of justice.

The foundation of the judiciary is the trust and the confidence of the people in its ability to deliver fearless and impartial justice. When the foundation itself is sought to be shaken by acts which tend to create disaffection and disrespect for the authority of the court by creating distrust in its working, the edifice of the judicial system gets eroded.

The scurrilous/malicious attacks by the alleged contemnor Prashant Bhushan are not only against one or two judges but the entire Supreme Court in its functioning of the last six years. Such an attack which tends to create disaffection and disrespect for the authority of this Court cannot be ignored.”

The apex court had further said, “The tweets which are based on distorted facts, in our considered view, amount to committing ‘criminal contempt’. In the result, we hold alleged contemnor Prashant Bhushan guilty of having committed criminal contempt of this Court.” On 5 August, the SC had reserved its verdict in the case after Bhushan had defended his tweets, saying they were against the judges regarding their conduct in their personal capacity and they did not obstruct the administration of justice.

 On 22 July, the SC had issued a notice to him. The court had asked Prashant Bhushan to explain tweets “undermining the dignity and authority of the Supreme Court in general and the office of the Chief Justice of India in particular”. In his reply to the Court by a 142-page detailed affidavit, Bhushan had stated that the expression of bona fide opinion about the Court cannot amount to contempt. He admitted that there were several shortcomings in the functioning of the judiciary which warranted criticism.

Bhushan, in his affidavit, also regretted remarking on Bobde not wearing a helmet. He added that he had failed to notice the bike was stationary and that the CJI was not riding but merely sitting on it. Mehak Maheshwari, a Gwaliorbased lawyer, had filed a contempt petition against Prashant Bhushan which was converted into suo motu criminal contempt.