Supreme Court has rejected the plea filed by activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan to defer the hearing on his sentence in a contempt case conviction. The top court has assured Bhusan “no punishment will be acted upon till his review against the order convicting him in the case is decided.”
Three judge bench comprising of Arun Mishra, BR Gavai, and Krishna Murari stated that the judgment will not be complete until the sentence.
Prashant Bhusan had moved Supreme Court to defer the hearing of his sentence in a contempt case conviction till the time his review petition against the conviction is taken up. He approached the apex court to accept his request in view of underlying public policy with respect to safeguarding liberty of a citizen under Article 21.
Under the Contempt of Court Act, the guilty can get six years of imprisonment or Rs 2000 fine or both.
Supreme Court has taken the suo moto cognizance of the two tweets alleged of containing derogatory remarks against the current CJI and former CJIs. He was convicted of contempt of court on August 14 and stated that they cannot be said to be a fair criticism of the functioning of the judiciary made in the public interest.
“The Indian judiciary is not only one of the pillars on which the Indian democracy stands but is the central pillar. An attempt to shake the very foundation of constitutional democracy has to be dealt with an iron hand,” ruled the court.
