New Delhi: Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan was Friday held guilty of criminal contempt for his tweets on Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde and earlier on former Chief Justices.
A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, B.R. Gavai and Krishna Murari said Bhushan’s tweets were based on “distorted facts”, adding that his allegations were “undoubtedly false, malicious and scandalous”.
Bhushan had refused to apologise for the tweets but expressed regretted if his comments had caused any hurt or lowered the prestige of the judiciary.
One of the cases dates back to November 2009 when Bhushan gave an interview to Tehelka magazine, in which he had allegedly made serious imputations against former chief justices of India S.H. Kapadia and K.G. Balakrishnan.
The issue resurfaced after a case was filed for a tweet Bhushan posted in reference to a viral photograph from late June that showed CJI Bobde astride a parked motorcycle.
Not dealing firmly with malicious attacks against the judiciary “may affect the national honour and prestige in the comity of nations”, the Supreme Court said Friday as it ruled against Bhushan.
Read the full judgment here: