The Supreme Court held Advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court in a suo moto contempt case taken against him over two of his tweets about the Chief Justice of India and the Supreme Court.
Justice B R Gavai, observed that Bhushan committed “serious contempt of the Court”. A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari had reserved judgment in the case on August 5 after elaborately hearing Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave for Bhushan. The bench will hear him on sentence on August 20.
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Prashant Bhushan had filed a detailed reply to the contempt notice, stating that expression of bona fide opinion about the Court cannot amount to contempt.
In reference to his tweet about Chief Justice of India, S A Bobde, seated on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, Bhushan said in the affidavit that his comment was to underline his angusih at the non-physical functioning of the Supreme Court for the last more than three months,
“As a result of which fundamental rights of citizens, such as those in detention, those destitute and poor, and others facing serious and urgent grievances were not being addressed or taken up for redressal”
Prashant Bhushan in his Reply Affidavit
“Prashant Bhushan’s Tweets have brought disrepute to the administration of justice and are capable of undermining the dignity and authority of the Supreme Court in general and the office of the Chief Justice of India in particular, in the eyes of general public”
Justices B R Gavai and Krishna Murari
