Bhushan doesn\'t apologise; SC gives 2 days
NEW DELHI: Activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Thursday refused to apologise over his recent tweets criticising the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India of failure to protect fundamental rights of citizens, prompting the court to give him a last chance to take back his words.
A three-judge bench led by Justice Arun Mishra, which has already convicted him over his two tweets in which he attacked the court for 'acts of omission and commission emasculating democracy', gave him two more days to reflect on his stance.
The top court was expected to sentence him, but instead heard the arguments. Bhushan refused to budge from his position saying it was his bounden duty to speak up at this juncture of Indian history.
"I did not tweet in a fit of absence mindedness. It would be insincere and contemptuous on my part to offer an apology for the tweets that expressed what was and continues to be my bona fide belief," Bhushan told the bench.
He then quoted Mahatma Gandhi to say that he will not either seek mercy nor plead magnanimity of the court.
"I am here, therefore, to cheerfully submit to any penalty that can lawfully be inflicted upon me for what the Court has determined to be an offence, and what appears to me to be the highest duty of a citizen," he further said.
Attorney General K K Venugopal urged the court not to award any punishment to Bhushan in the contempt case saying he has already been convicted.
The bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Krishna Murari, said it can be very lenient if there is realisation of mistake, and posted the matter for further hearing on August 24.
At the outset, the court rejected the submission of Bhushan's counsel Dushyant Dave that another bench hear the arguments on the quantum of sentence.
The bench however gave assurance to Bhushan that no punishment will be acted upon till his review against the order convicting him is decided.
The top court on August 14 held Bhushan guilty of criminal contempt for his derogatory tweets against the judiciary saying they cannot be said to be a fair criticism. A contemnor can be punished with simple imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs 2,000, or both.