Prashant Bhushan in the last hearing refused to apologize for his tweets
New Delhi:
On Monday, the Supreme Court will pass judgment in a contempt case against lawyer Prashant Bhushan for his tweets against the judiciary and Chief Justice of India SA Bobde.
Bhushan, in the last hearing on Tuesday, declined to apologize for his tweets, although the government’s top lawyer helping the court suggested he should be pardoned with a warning.
After a swing in the courtroom and an emotional statement from the outgoing judge, Judge Arun Mishra, the Supreme Court had reserved its ruling.
“If you are hurting someone, what is wrong with apologizing?” Judge Arun Mishra had said. “How long will the system suffer from all of this? I’ll be retiring in a few days. Will it be okay if you or others start attacking me? You should apply balm if you’ve caused damage,” he had said.
Judge Mishra was responding to the arguments of Bhushan’s lawyer, Rajeev Dhavan, and attorney general KK Venugopal.
Prashant Bhushan, found guilty of contempt, refused to retract or apologize for his tweets after the three-day court period ended on Monday. In a 100-page statement, he said the tweets represented a genuine belief that he holds and an apology, conditional or unconditional, would be insincere. To back down now would be “contempt of my conscience” and of the court, he said.
The Supreme Court had asked for an unconditional apology and had asked the 63-year-old to “reconsider” his statement. On Tuesday, the court told Bhushan to consider withdrawing the statement.
Bhushan’s lawyer, Rajeev Dhavan, said: “This institution must accept criticism, and not just criticism, but extreme criticism. Its shoulders are wide enough.” Dhavan also argued that an apology cannot be coerced.
According to him, Mr. Bhushan could be forgiven with a message, not even with a reprimand or warning. “Such a reprimand or warning is too broad and shouldn’t be done. You can’t silence one forever. A message that it should be a bit restricted in the future should suffice.”
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