SC initiates contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan, Twitter India

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 21

The Supreme Court on Tuesday initiated suo motu contempt of court proceedings against activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan and Twitter India for his tweets allegedly scandalising the judiciary.

The contempt case is listed for hearing on July 22 before a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra. 

Recently Bhushan had tweeted, “CJI rides a (Rs) 50 Lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP leader at Raj Bhavan Nagpur, without a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC in Lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental right to access Justice.”

Bhushan’s tweet critical of the CJI had come after Justice SA Bobde’s picture showing him riding a luxurious bike in Nagpur went viral on social media. Later, it turned out that the CJI didn’t ride Harley Davidson bike and just sat on it to have a feel of the machine. He didn’t even know who its owner was, it was clarified.

But it was immediately not clear if Bhushan’s tweet about the CJI was the reason behind the contempt proceedings or the development related to something else. 

Known for his comments critical of the judiciary, Bhushan, when contacted, said, “I don’t know the reasons for the contempt (proceedings) against me.”

A criminal contempt petition is already pending against him since 2009. His father and senior advocate Shanti Bhushan intervened as a party in the case and filed an affidavit about corruption in judiciary. But the matter has not been heard for several years.

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