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The Apex Court was hearing a contempt case filed against Advocate Prashant Bhushan which was filed against him back in 2009. The Top Court while hearing the matter told Mr. Bhushan that there is a thin line between free speech and contempt.
The contempt case was filed against him for making certain objectionable remarks against the then CJI and 16 other Supreme Court Judges. Bhushan made these allegations in an interview to a leading magazine back in 2009.
The contempt of court case was filed against Prashant Bhushan and the Tehelka Magazine Editor by Senior Advocate Harish Salve.
The bench for this matter comprised of Justice Arun Mishra. The Counsel appearing for Mr. Bhushan, advocate Rajeev Dhavan was told by the justice that there should be a balance between the right to free speech and contempt of court. One should not go against the dignity of the judiciary.
Further to which Justice Mishra said that “We are all here for freedom of speech and then there’s contempt.” He added that “there’s a thin line that you (advocate Bhushan) may have crossed.”
The Apex Court started suo motu criminal contempt proceedings against advocate Prashant Bhushan and the social media platform Twitter India on July 21. Later the SC issued notices to advocate Bhushan and Attorney General KK Venugopal for the advocate’s alleged defamatory tweets against the judiciary. The case is now scheduled to be heard again on August 5.
Following this, another contempt case was filed against Bhushan related to two tweets posted by him on June 27 and 29. His first tweet was about “undeclared emergency” in India and the role of the Supreme Court and the last four Chief Justices of India. Bhushan’s second tweet was about Chief Justice SA Bobde trying out a Harley Davidson superbike in his hometown Nagpur.
Responding to the notice against him, Bhushan had told that the power of contempt must not be used to suppress voices that seek answerability from a court for its errors. “To prevent a citizen from forming, holding and expressing ‘bonafide opinion’ in the public interest on any institution and from ‘evaluating’ its performance is not a reasonable restriction on fundamental right to free speech,” Bhushan told.
Bhushan further said that his tweet about the last four chief justices was his “bonafide impression” about them. He added that even though his personal views were outspoken and unpleasant, they cannot be counted as contempt of court.
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