The Supreme Court on Friday held lawyer Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for his tweets which were deemed derogatory to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and his four predecessors. The court will hear arguments on 20 August to decide on punishment, which can go up to six months in jail, or fine, or both.
The SC ruled, “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 SC also said, “The tweets which are based on the distorted facts, in our considered view, amount to committing of ‘criminal contempt’. In the result, we hold alleged contemnor Prashant Bhushan guilty of having committed criminal contempt of this Court.”
On 5 August, the apex court had reserved its verdict in the case after Bhushan had defended his two tweets, saying they were against the judges regarding their conduct in their personal capacity and they did not obstruct administration of justice.
Earlier, on 22 July, the SC had issued a notice to him. The court has asked Prashant Bhushan to explain the 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 expression of bona fide opinion about the Court cannot amount to contempt. He submitted that there were several shortcomings in the functioning of the judiciary, which warranted criticism.
Bhushan, in his affidavit, regretted saying Bobde was 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 Gwalior-based lawyer, filed a contempt petition against Prashant Bhushan which was converted into suo motu criminal contempt.