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Prashant Bhushan Says Contempt Case Has Become A Watershed Moment For Freedom Of Speech

The lawyer said while he reserves his right to seek a review of the conviction and sentencing, he will respectfully pay the fine.
Twitter/Prashant Bhushan

After the Supreme Court on Monday fined Prashant Bhushan Re 1 in the contempt case against him, the lawyer said he will respectfully pay the fine.

Bhushan said this case has become a watershed moment for freedom of speech and seems to have encouraged many people to speak out against the injustices in society.

The lawyer said he had already said in his first statement that he would “cheerfully submit to any penalty that can lawfully be inflicted upon me”.

During the 20 August hearing, Bhushan had said in a statement, “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 said that while he reserves his right to seek a review of the conviction and sentencing by way of an appropriate legal remedy, he will respectfully pay the fine.

“My tweets were not intended in any way to disrespect the Supreme Court or the judiciary but were meant to express my anguish at what I felt was a deviation from its sterling past record,” he added. “If the court gets weakened, it weakens the republic.”

“The issue was never about me versus the Hon’ble judges, much less about me versus the Supreme Court. When the Supreme Court of India wins, every Indian wins.”

Here’s the full statement:

He had earlier tweeted that senior lawyer Rajeev Dhavan contributed the Re 1 fine.

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra asked Bhushan on Monday to deposit the fine by 15 September, failing which he will attract a jail term of three months and debarment from law practice for three years.

Freedom of speech cannot be curtailed but rights of others need to be respected, said the bench, which also comprised Justices BR Gavai and Krishna Murari, PTI reported.

(With PTI inputs)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.