[Breaking] SC Holds Prashant Bhushan Guilty Of Contempt For Tweets Against Judiciary; Will Hear Him On Sentence [Read Judgment]

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

14 Aug 2020 5:46 AM GMT

  • [Breaking] SC Holds Prashant Bhushan Guilty Of Contempt For Tweets Against Judiciary; Will Hear Him On Sentence [Read Judgment]

    The Supreme Court on Friday held Advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court in the 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, reading out the judgment, observed that Bhushan committed "serious contempt of the Court".The bench will hear him on sentence on August 20.A bench comprising...

    The Supreme Court on Friday held Advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court  in the 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, reading out the judgment, observed that Bhushan committed "serious contempt of the Court".

    The bench will hear him on sentence on August 20.

    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.


    Dave submitted that Bhushan was airing only bona fide criticism against the judiciary without any malice. Dave also submitted that there were several shortcomings in the functioning of the judiciary, which warranted Bhushan's criticism.

    'Why Only Certain Judges Get Politically Sensitive Matters?' : Dave Raises Points Of Criticism Against SC In Prashant Bhushan Contempt Case

    Bhushan filed a detailed reply affidavit to the contempt notice, stating that expression of bona fide opinion about the Court cannot amount to contempt.

    As regards 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".

    As regards the tweet about the role of SC in the destruction of democracy and the role of last 4 CJIs in that, Bhushan says that it was his "bonafide impression" about them and it is his considered opinion that SC allowed the destruction of democracy and such expression of opinion however "outspoken, disagreeable or unpalatable" can't constitute contempt.

    It was on July 22 that the bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra issued contempt notice to Bhushan in a suo moto case taken with respect to two of his tweets on judiciary and the Chief Justice of India.

    The bench, also including Justices B R Gavai and Krishna Murari, prima facie, observed that his 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".


    (Story to be updated after getting full copy of the judgment)

    Click Here To Download Judgment

    [Read Judgment]




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