Prashant Bhushan contempt case: SC bench to pronounce quantum of sentence on Monday

After senior advocate Prashant Bhushan refused to retract or apologise for his tweets, the Supreme Court will sentence Bhushan on Monday after finding him guilty of contempt of court. Previously,  a three-judge Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari had reserved its verdict after Bhushan maintained that he had the highest regard for the institution. Attorney General KK Venugopal requested the bench to spare Bhushan from punishment and forgive or warn him, while Bhushan's counsel Rajeev Dhavan called for statesmanship from the court, asserting that Bhushan will not withdraw or apologise his statement.

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Bhushan: 'Won't apologise for tweets or statement'

Earlier on August 24, Bhushan filed a supplementary reply - affirming 'Supreme Court as the last bastion of hope for protection of fundamental rights'. He said that if he retracted a statement he believed to be true or offer an insincere apology, it would amount to contempt of his conscience. Previously, the bench had directed Bhushan to render an unconditional apology for his submitted statement by 24 August, fixing an August 25 date for the hearing.

On August 20, Bhushan sought a deferment on his sentencing and said, “I do not ask for mercy, I do not appeal to magnanimity. I am here, therefore, to cheerfully submit to any penalty that can lawfully be inflicted upon me for what the Court has determined to be an offence, and what appears to me to be the highest duty of a citizen,” in his statement. While the bench did not defer the hearing on the sentencing, it assured Bhushan that no punishment awarded to him will be enforced until his review petition is considered and decided upon.

SC reserves verdict on quantum of sentence against Prashant Bhushan in contempt case

SC holds Bhushan guilty

On 14 August, the SC had held Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for posting tweets to malign the image of the judiciary. Maintaining that Bhushan's tweet commenting on CJI SA Bobde's photo on a motorcycle in Nagpur and alleging the 'SC is under lockdown' was factually incorrect. It also said that the comments on the CJI  to hint that he is keeping the SC in lockdown was malicious and has a tendency to 'shake the confidence' of the public at large in the judiciary.

Prashant Bhushan refuses to apologise or retract statement & tweets; affirms faith in SC

Observing on Bhushan's second tweet alleging the SC and the previous four CJI's role in the 'destruction of Indian democracy in the past 6 years', the SC said that the criticism is not against a particular judge but the institution of the Supreme Court and the institution of the CJI. Slamming the SC's ruling, prominent personalities, retired SC judges, senior lawyers, former bureaucrats, politicians, and human rights organisation have criticised the top court’s order against Bhushan.  In response, bar councils of Maharashtra and Goa unanimously passed a resolution to support the Supreme Court ruling.

'Don’t make Prashant Bhushan a martyr': Rajeev Dhavan tells SC in contempt of court case