{"id":233967,"date":"2020-08-14T11:53:57","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T06:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=233967"},"modified":"2020-08-21T13:13:13","modified_gmt":"2020-08-21T07:43:13","slug":"prashant-bhushan-contempt-sc-finds-advocate-guilty-of-contempt-for-his-tweets-to-hear-him-on-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2020\/08\/14\/prashant-bhushan-contempt-sc-finds-advocate-guilty-of-contempt-for-his-tweets-to-hear-him-on-sentence\/","title":{"rendered":"Prashant Bhushan’s tweets not “fair criticism” of judiciary; SC finds him guilty of criminal contempt [DETAILED REPORT]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe scurrilous allegations, which are malicious in nature and have the tendency to scandalize the Court are not expected from a person, who is a lawyer of 30 years standing. In our considered view, it cannot be said that the above tweets can be said to be a fair criticism of the functioning of the judiciary, made bona fide in the public interest.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Supreme Court<\/strong>:<\/span> The 3-judge bench of Arun Mishra, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari, JJ has, in a 108-pages long verdict<\/strong>, held advocate Prashant guilty of criminal contempt in the suo motu contempt petition initiated against him after he criticised the Supreme Court and the sitting and former CJIs in a couple of tweets<\/strong>. It held,<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe tweets which are based on the distorted facts, in our considered view, amount to committing of \u2018criminal contempt\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Stating that in order to protect the larger public interest, such attempts of attack on the highest judiciary of the country should be dealt with firmly, the Court noticed that Advocate Bhushan has been practicing for last 30 years in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court and has consistently taken up many issues of public interest concerning the health of our democracy and its institutions and in particular the functioning of our judiciary and especially its accountability. Bhushan being part of the institution of administration of justice, instead of protecting the majesty of law has indulged into an act, which tends to bring disrepute to the institution of administration of justice<\/strong><\/span>. He is expected to act as a responsible officer of this Court.<\/p>\n

Stressing upon the importance of Judiciary and the need to protect the institution of the Supreme Court from malicious attacks, the Court said that judiciary is considered as a last hope when a citizen fails to get justice anywhere<\/strong><\/span>. The Supreme Court is the epitome of the Indian judiciary. An attack on the Supreme Court does not only have the effect of tending an ordinary litigant of losing the confidence in the Supreme Court but also may tend to lose the confidence in the mind of other judges in the country in its highest court. A possibility of the other judges getting an impression that they may not stand protected from malicious attacks, when the Supreme Court has failed to protect itself from malicious insinuations, cannot be ruled out.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNo doubt, that the Court is required to be magnanimous, when criticism is made of the judges or of the institution of administration of justice. However, such magnanimity cannot be stretched to such an extent, which may amount to weakness in dealing with a malicious, scurrilous, calculated attack on the very foundation of the institution of the judiciary and thereby damaging the very foundation of the democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What prompted the Court to initiate the contempt proceedings<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

The matter deals with certain tweets made by Bhushan. He had recently criticised the Supreme Court and the sitting and former CJIs in a couple of tweets which prompted the Supreme Court to initiate suo motu contempt petition against him. Here are the tweets:<\/p>\n

\"\"On Tweet 1<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Advocate Bhushan told the Court that the said tweet is divided the tweet into 3 parts:<\/p>\n