Prashant Bhushan tweeted a picture of him taking Re 1 from his lawyer.
New Delhi:
Lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan, who has been fined Re 1 by the Supreme Court in a contempt case against him, said in a tweet this afternoon that he has “gratefully accepted” the contribution for the fine from his lawyer.
“My lawyer & senior colleague Rajiv Dhavan contributed 1 Re immediately after the contempt judgement today which I gratefully accepted (sic),” Mr Bhushan tweeted.
The Supreme Court today ordered the 63-year-old lawyer to pay Re 1 as fine; he was earlier this month held guilty of contempt for his tweets criticising Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and the top court.
The lawyer-activist has been given time till September 15 to pay the fine. If he does not pay it, he will face jail for three months and be banned from practicing for three years.
My lawyer & senior colleague Rajiv Dhavan contributed 1 Re immediately after the contempt judgement today which I gratefully accepted pic.twitter.com/vVXmzPe4ss
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) August 31, 2020
“Freedom of speech cannot be curtailed,” said the Supreme Court while handing down the sentence.
Soon after the judgment, Mr Bhushan said he will take a “collective decision” on whether to pay the fine or confront the other options.
Prashant Bhushan had earlier refused to apologise for his tweets. He said he considered it the discharge of his “highest duty” and apologising would be “contempt of his conscience.”
“If you are hurting someone, then what is wrong in apologizing,” Justice Arun Mishra said last week. “For how long the system will suffer all this? I am retiring in a few days. Will it be okay if you or others start attacking me? You should apply balm if you have caused hurt.
“We gave several opportunities and encouragement to (Prashant Bhushan) to express regret. He not only gave wide publicity to the second statement but also gave various interviews to press,” the top court said today.
