Prominent personalities, including retired Supreme Court judges, senior apex court lawyers, former bureaucrats and Services chiefs, authors and veteran journalists have expressed their anguish at the top court’s conviction of civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan for his two tweets.
Also read: Legal and civil society luminaries issue statement on judgment against Prashant Bhushan
A statement signed by former Supreme Court judges Ruma Pal, B. Sudershan Reddy, Aftab Alam, G.S. Singhvi and Madan B. Lokur; former naval chiefs L. Ramdas and Vishnu Bhagwat; activists Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander; author Arundhati Roy; veteran journalist N. Ram; senior advocate Indira Jaising; and former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said the tweets were bona fide criticism of the court.
To convict Mr. Bhushan of contempt for his criticism showed the judiciary in poor light, they said.
“To hold that such criticism shakes the foundations of the judiciary and needs to be dealt with an iron hand, appears to be a disproportionate response which could, in fact, diminish the reputation of the court”, the statement said.
Also read: Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt | What was the hurry, asks Justice Lodha
They said it spoke poorly of the judiciary’s confidence in itself if a tweet by an individual was perceived by judges to shake the very foundation of public trust in them.
A three-judge Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra, on August 14, convicted Mr. Bhushan for contempt by scandalising the court with his tweet on a photograph of the Chief Justice of India astride a bike and another on the role played by the court in the past six years. His sentence hearing is scheduled for August 20.
Also read: Reconsider decision in Prashant Bhushan case, Supreme Court urged
Lawyers’ view
Another statement by hundreds of lawyers from across the country conveyed their “firm view that the judgment [of August 14] must not be given effect to, until a larger Bench, sitting in open court after the pandemic has the opportunity to review the standards of criminal contempt”.
Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for Mr. Bhushan, informed the Bench that a review is being filed. “The judgment [August 14] has many great imbalances”, he told the Justice Mishra Bench.
The submission was made by Mr. Dhavan during the hearing of a 2009 contempt case against Mr. Bhushan for his remarks on judicial corruption in an interview to Tehelka magazine in 2009.
Also read: SC ruling on Prashant Bhushan a ‘sign of deterioration of free speech’, says CHRI
The lawyers, in their statement, said an independent judiciary did not mean one above scrutiny and comment. An independent and outspoken Bar was essential for an independent judiciary. “A Bar silenced under the threat of contempt, will undermine the independence and ultimately the strength of the court. A silenced Bar, cannot lead to a strong court”, they noted.
The statement, signed by senior lawyers such as Dushyant Dave, Arvind Datar, Navroz H. Seervai, Janak Dwarakadas, Shyam Divan, Huzefa Ahmadi, Sriram Panchu, R. Vaigai, Vrinda Grover, Kamini Jaiswal, among others, said: “While some of us may have divergent views on the advisability and content of Mr. Prashant Bhushan’s two tweets, we are unanimously of the view that no contempt of court was intended or committed... This judgment does not restore the authority of the court in the eyes of the public. Rather, it will discourage lawyers from being outspoken”.
The prominent personalities’ statement said the August 14 judgment had a chilling effect on people expressing critical views on the functioning of the judiciary. “Stifling of criticism by stakeholders does not bode well for any institution, especially the highest court in the country”, it added.
Published - August 17, 2020 08:09 pm IST
