Updated: August 31, 2020 5:19:05 pm
Lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan at a press conference on Monday. (Express photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Hours after the main defender Prashant Bhushan was fired with a symbolic fine of Re 1 by the Supreme Court in a criminal case for contempt on Monday, said he would pay the fine “respectfully”. However, he maintained that his tweets were not intended to disrespect the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice of India.
“While I reserve the right to review the sentence, I will respectfully pay the fine,” he said while speaking at the press conference. He said that all Indians want a strong judiciary and “if the court weakens, it weakens the republic.”
He added: “My tweets were not intended to disrespect SC, but rather to express my distress over what I felt was a deviation from his excellent record … This is a watershed moment for freedom of expression and seems to have encouraged many people to speak out against injustices. “
After Bhushan was found guilty of criminal contempt For two of his tweets, the high court, consisting of judges Arun Mishra, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari, ordered the lawyer to deposit the amount before September 15, otherwise, it will attract a three-month jail sentence and the disqualification from the practice of law for three years.
Read the chronology of events in the Prashant Bhushan contempt case
“Freedom of expression cannot be restricted, but the rights of others must be respected,” the court observed, PTI reported.
On August 14, the court had found Bhushan guilty for the tweets made on June 27 and 29.
During the discussions, Bhushan told the court that the “two tweets represented” his “authentic beliefs” and that he did not want to apologize for the same. He also responded negatively when asked if he wanted to reconsider his statement.
However, the court gave him until August 24 “to present unconditional apologies, if he so wishes.”
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