Contempt case: Bhushan's conduct reflects ego, zero remorse, says SC

The Supreme Court on Monday while imposing a token fine of Re 1 on advocate Prashant Bhushan who has been convicted in a contempt case for tweets against the judiciary said it was not afraid of either sentencing Bhushan or of debarring him from practiceA bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra BR Gavai and Krishna Murari said We are not afraid of sentencing the contemnor either with imprisonment or from debarring him from the practice His conduct reflects adamance and ego which has no place to exist in the system of administration of justice and in noble profession and no remorse is shown for the harm done to the institution to which he belongsThe bench insisted that it never attempted to coerce Bhushan to submit the apology instead clearly mentioned that time was given to submit unconditional apology if he so desiresThe top court also said it cannot retaliate merely because Bhushan has made a statement that he is neither invoking the magnanimity or the mercy of the top court instead he is ready to submit to the penalty that can be lawfully be inflicted upon himIn our considered view the act committed by the contemnor is a very serious one He has attempted to denigrate the reputation of the institution of administration of justice of which he himself is a part added the benchThe top court also emphasized that the faith of the citizens of the country in the institution of justice is the foundation for rule of law which is an essential factor in the democratic set up The bench emphasized that lawyers are supposed to be fearlessly independent and robust but at the same time respectful to the institutionIn giving a quietus to the matter the bench said it desired for the same from the very beginning Directly or indirectly the contemnor was persuaded to end this matter by tendering an apology and save the grace of the institution as well as the individual who is an officer of the Court noted the benchHowever for the reasons best known to Bhushan he has neither shown regret in spite of our persuasion or the advice of the learned Attorney General Thus we have to consider imposing an appropriate sentence upon him added the top courtThe bench said Bhushan did not pay heed to the advice of the Attorney General to express regret and withdraw the wild allegations made through tweets Even our request made to him has gone in vain Thus we feel that the simple issuance of warning is not going to suffice in the instant case said the top courtThe bench said if it does not take cognizance of such conduct it will give a wrong message to the lawyers and litigants throughout the countryHowever by showing magnanimity instead of imposing any severe punishment we are sentencing the contemnor with a nominal fine of Re 1 Rupee one to be deposited with the Registry of this Court by September 15 failing which he shall undergo a simple imprisonment for a period of three months and further be debarred from practising in this Court for a period of three years said the top courtKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever