New SC Bench to hear 2009 Contempt of Court Case against Prashant Bhushan

A separate bench of the Apex Court will hear the 2009 Contempt of Court case against Advocate Prashant Bhushan for his remarks that past Chief Justices of India were corrupt.

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said that since he is retiring on Sept 2, he wont have adequate time to address the legal questions raised by Bhushan in the matter.

The Bench led by Justice Mishra, which also comprised Justice BR Gavai & Justice Krishna Murari said that “Let the matter be listed before an appropriate bench on Sept 10 after taking directions from the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde".

This case dates back to 2009 when Bhushan called past CJIs corrupt in an interview to Tehelka magazine.

Senior Lawyer Harish Salve brought this statement to the attention of the Court based on which contempt action was initiated against him in Nov 2009.

The case was listed by the Supreme Court on July 24 over 8 years after it was last heard. Bhushan refused to apologise for his statement but offered an explanation to the Court.

On Aug 10, the Top Court rejected Bhushan’s explanation & decided to proceed with the case & hear it in detail.

When the case was heard on Aug 17, the Court said that certain larger legal issues need to be settled including whether allegations of corruption against judges can be made by way of public statements & the procedure to be adopted when such allegations are raised.

When the case was taken up on Tuesday, Bhushan submitted a revised list of legal issues to be considered by the Court & also prayed for reference of the matter to the Constitution Bench.

“I am short of time. I am demitting office,” Justice Mishra remarked.

The same Justice Mishra-led bench is slated to hear on Tuesday another contempt of court case against Bhushan for his tweets criticising the SC & the CJI. Bhushan has been held guilty in this case & the Court is expected to decide on the punishment to be handed down to Bhushan.

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