Prashant Bhushan accepts counsel's 'Re 1 donation' after SC's sentencing in contempt case

After Supreme Court's sentenced him a fine of Re.1, senior SC advocate Prashant Bhushan accepted his lawyer Rajeev Dhawan's 'donation' of Re.1 on Monday, hinting at a decision to pay the court-levied fine. The apex court's 3-judge Bench in its judgment sentenced Bhushan to pay a fine of 1 Rupee by September 15 or face three months in prison and three-year disbarment from practising in the Supreme Court - in case of non-payment. The SC bench had convicted Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for his two tweets on the judiciary and CJI SA Bobade.

Bhushan accepts donation

Prashant Bhushan's choice: 3 months jail & 3 years SC disbarment, or Rs 1 fine & his pride

SC: Pay Re 1 or 3-month jail & 3-yr disbarment

The bench Bhushan’s actions during the pendency of the contempt case against him stating that he had tried to interfere with the ongoing judicial process by releasing his statements in the press even before they were filed before the top court.  Bhushan has been directed to pay the fine before September 15 via DD, as he had earlier expressed his willingness to file a review petition challenging the Supreme Court's guilty verdict. With Justice Arun Mishra, who was heading the 3-judge bench, retiring on September 2, the review petition (if filed) will have to be listed before a different bench of the Supreme Court.

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

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. 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.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's tally crosses 36 lakh with 78,512 new cases

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 and could  'shake the confidence' of the public. 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. 

India-China clash: BJP hails Army after it foils PLA's incursion attempts in Ladakh