Contempt of court: Pained because I'm grossly misunderstood, Prashant Bhushan tells SC
New Delhi/IBNS: Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on Thursday told the highest level of India's justice system that he was pained because his tweets against the Supreme Court, for which he has been held guilty of contempt of court, were "misunderstood", media reports said.
Bhushan, who had tweeted against the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde, said as quoted by NDTV, "I am pained to hear that I am held guilty of contempt of court. I am pained not because of the would-be sentencing, but because I am being grossly misunderstood. I believe that open criticism is necessary to safeguard democracy and its values."
"My tweets need to be seen as an attempt for working for the betterment of the institution. My tweets were a small attempt to discharge what I consider my highest duty. Apologising would also be dereliction of my duty. I do not ask for mercy. I do not appeal for magnanimity. I cheerfully submit to any punishment that the court may impose," he told the top court.
Bhushan wrote on Twitter in June, "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".
In another tweet, he had said, "The CJI rides a Rs 50-lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] leader at Raj Bhavan, Nagpur, without wearing a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC on lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental right to access justice!"
Responding to Bhushan's Thursday statement, Justice Arun Mishra said, "There is a Lakshman Rekha (boundary) for everything. Why cross it? We welcome pursuing good cases in public interest but remember, this is now after conviction. And it is a serious thing. I haven't convicted anyone of contempt in 24 years as a judge. This is my first such order."
"Freedom of speech is not absolute to anyone, to me, to press. We have to tell everyone that this is the line. There's no problem in being an activist but we have to say this is the line. Right or wrong, we have now found you guilty."
Earlier in the day, the top court had rejected Bhushan's request for another bench to hear his arguments on the quantum of sentence.
However, the court has assured the senior advocate that no punishment will be acted upon him till his review is decided.
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