In a suo motu contempt case against Prashant Bhushan over his two tweets on CJI Bobde and his four predecessors, the bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra heard the arguments.
New Delhi| The Supreme Court today held activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for his derogatory tweets against the judiciary and the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The top court will conduct a hearing on the quantum of punishment on August 20, the court announced.
In a suo motu contempt case against Prashant Bhushan over his two tweets on CJI BObde and his four predecessors, the bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra heard the arguments.
The punishment for contempt of court may include up to six months in jail, or fine, or both.
Ealier, a contempt of court notice to Advocate Prashant Bhushan, for his tweets critiquing the judiciary, was issued by the bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice Arun Mishra.
The top court took note of Bhushan’s tweets as “bringing disrepute to the administration of justice.”
Prashant Bhushan, senior lawyer, and activist had tweeted on 29 June.
“CJI rides a 50 Lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP leader at Raj Bhavan Nagpur, without a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC in Lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental right to access Justice!”
In another tweet on 27 June, Bhushan wrote, “When historians in future look back at the last 6 years to see how democracy has been destroyed in India even without a formal Emergency, they will particularly mark the role of the Supreme Court in this destruction, & more particularly the role of the last 4 CJIs.”
Later, in a 134-page long affidavit, Bhushan apologized for only one thing. He said he regretted that he did not notice the motorcycle was on a stand when he tweeted on CJI SA Bobde riding a Rs 50-lakh bike “without a helmet”.
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