NEW DELHI—The Supreme Court’s imposition of a one rupee fine on public interest lawyer Prashant Bhushan for being found guilty of contempt of court only reduces its own authority, Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde told HuffPost India.
“They have reduced their mountain of authority, into a molehill of a fine? This is exactly why they should have insisted on the Attorney General advising them right from the beginning,” Hegde said.
When asked if the AG’s advice would’ve prevented a conviction, Hegde said, “AG’s advice followed the outrage. Maybe it confirmed to them the gravity of the endeavour.”
The respected Senior Advocate explained that he believes the Apex Court has reduced its own authority. “More than the fine itself, (it was) the manner of its imposition, waiting to elicit an apology and the statements in court seeking them.”
Earlier, on the day the SC held Bhushan guilty of contempt of court, Hegde was the first Senior Advocate to come out in criticism of the judgment. “The judgment in Prashant Bhushan will discourage lawyers from being outspoken. A silenced bar cannot lead to a strong court,” Hegde had cautioned, while speaking with HuffPost India.
He had further stated that, by being held guilty of contempt of court, Bhushan “joins the ranks of EMS Namboodiripad and Arundhati Roy in having been convicted by the Supreme Court on a charge of contempt. The judgment will add to textbooks on Contempt, but will leave most readers wondering whether it does anything to restore the authority of the court in the eyes of the public.”
A three-judge bench led by Justice Arun Mishra held Bhushan guilty of contempt of court on 14 August for his two tweets commenting about the performance of the Supreme Court and present and past Chief Justices.
On Monday, the SC bench led by Justice Mishra imposed a fine of Re 1 on Bhushan that is to be payable by September 15. If he failed to do that, the court said the public interest lawyer may be sent to jail for three months and not allowed to practise law for three years.
At a press conference held after the sentencing hearing, Bhushan said that he “will respectfully” pay the 1 fine but also pursue legal remedies to challenge the judgment.