Prashant Bhushan contempt case: Advocate files for review, seeks larger & different bench

After paying the Re.1 fine levied by the Supreme Court, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on Saturday approached the apex court appealing against his contempt conviction for his two tweets. Bhushan has maintained that it was his right of appeal is a fundamental right, a safeguard against wrongful conviction. The advocate has sought a larger and different bench rather than the 3-judge bench comprising of Justices Arun Mishra,  BR Gavai, and Krishna Murari to review the case. With Justice Mishra retiring on September 2, a different bench will be constituted.

Prashant Bhushan accepts to pay SC's 'Re 1 fine' in contempt case; will file for review

Prashant Bhushan seeks review

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

On August 31, 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 bench had also criticised  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 accepted the fine and said that the contempt case was a watershed moment for 'freedom of speech'.

Prashant Bhushan accepts counsel's 'Re 1 donation' after SC's sentencing 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 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. 

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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. When the SC ordered him to render an unconditional apology, he said that 'an insincere apology would amount to contempt of his conscience'.