SC: Prashant Bhushan's  tweets attempted to scandalize the entire institution of the Supreme Court[Read Judgment]

The Supreme Court of India, on 14 August 2020 exercising inherent jurisdiction comprising of 3 Judge Bench Justice ARUN MISHRA, Justice B.R. GAVAI and Justice KRISHNA MURARI ruled that the Prashant Bhushan's  tweets attempted to scandalise the entire institution of the Supreme Court and tends to Shake Public Confidence in institution of Judiciary and held Prashant Bhushan guilty of having committed criminal contempt of this Court

Factual Background of the Petition

A petition came to be filed in this Supreme Court by one Mahek Maheshwari bringing to the notice of this Court, a tweet made by Mr. Prashant Bhushan, Advocate, alleged contemnor praying therein to initiate contempt proceedings against the alleged contemnors for wilfully and deliberately using hate/scandalous speech against this Court and entire judicial system. The Registry placed the said petition on the Administrative side of this Court seeking direction as to whether it should be listed for hearing or not, as consent of the learned Attorney General for India had not been obtained by the said Shri Maheshwari to file the said petition. After  examining the matter on the Administrative side, this court on the administrative side directed the matter to be listed on the Judicial side to pass appropriate orders.

Order

Court stated that the tweet in question, made against the CJI, is to the following effect :-

“CJI rides a 50 Lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP leader at Raj Bhavan Nagpur, without a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC in Lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental right to access justice!”

 Apart from that, another tweet has been published today in the Times of India which was made by Shri Prashant Bhushan on June 27, 2020, when he tweeted,

“When historians in future look back at the last 6 years to see how 3 democracy has been destroyed in India even without a formal Emergency, they will particularly mark the role of the Supreme Court in this destruction, & more particularly the role of the last 4 CJIs.”

We are, prima facie, of the view that the aforesaid statements on Twitter have brought the administration of justice in disrepute and are capable of undermining the dignity and authority of the Institution of Supreme Court in general and the office of the Chief Justice of India in particular, in the eyes of public at large.

Further, The Supreme Court took the suo motu cognizance of the aforesaid tweet also apart from the tweet quoted above and suo motu registered the proceedings.

Contentions by Contemnor

The main contention of the alleged contemnor is, that insofar as the first tweet is concerned,

1.  it was made primarily to underline his anguish at the non-physical functioning of the Supreme Court for the last more than three months, as a result of which fundamental rights of citizens, such as those in detention, those destitute and poor, and others facing serious and urgent grievances were not being addressed or taken up for redressal.
2. It is contended, that it was made to highlight the incongruity of the situation where the CJI on one hand keeps the court virtually in lockdown due to COVID fears, with hardly any cases being heard and those heard, also by an unsatisfactory process through video conferencing and on the other hand is seen in a public place with several people around him without a mask.
3. It is his submission, that expressing his anguish by highlighting the said incongruity and the attendant facts, the first tweet cannot be said to constitute contempt of court. It is submitted, that if it is regarded as a contempt, it would stifle free speech and would constitute an unreasonable restriction on the right of a citizen under Article l9(1)(a) of the Constitution.

Contemnor further stated that the second tweet dated 27.6.2020 is concerned, it is his submission, that the:

1.  said tweet has three distinct elements, each of which is his bona fide opinion about the state of affairs in the country in the past six years and the role of the Supreme Court and in particular the role of the last 4 CJIs.
2. first part of the tweet contains his considered opinion, that democracy has been substantially destroyed in India during the last six years.
3. second part is his opinion, that the Supreme Court has played a substantial role in allowing the destruction of the democracy and the third part is his opinion regarding the role of the last 4 Chief Justices in particular in allowing it.
4.  It is his submission, that such an expression of opinion, however outspoken, disagreeable or however unpalatable to some, cannot constitute contempt of court. a.

Court Judgment

The Supreme Court stated in its judgment that:

1. the summary jurisdiction of this Court is required to be exercised not to vindicate the dignity and honour of the individual judge, who is personally attacked or scandalised, but to uphold the majesty of the law and of the administration of justice.
2.  The foundation of the judiciary is the trust and the confidence of the people in its ability to deliver fearless and 106 impartial justice. When the foundation itself is sought to be shaken by acts which tend to create disaffection and disrespect for the authority of the court by creating distrust in its working, the edifice of the judicial system gets eroded.
3. The scurrilous/malicious attacks by the alleged contemnor No.1 are not only against one or two judges but the entire Supreme Court in its functioning of the last six years. Such an attack which tends to create disaffection and disrespect for the authority of this Court cannot be ignored.

The Supreme Court held that the alleged contemnor has attempted to scandalise the entire institution of the Supreme Court. And whenever men’s allegiance to the law is so fundamentally shaken, it is the most fatal and most dangerous obstruction of justice, and, in my opinion, calls out for a more rapid and immediate redress than any other obstruction whatsoever; not for the sake of the Judges, as private individuals, but because they are the channels by which the King’s justice is conveyed to the people.”.

The tweets which are based on the distorted facts, in our considered view, amount to committing of ‘criminal contempt’. this Court as it has suspended both the tweets.. In the result, we hold alleged contemnor No.1 – Mr. Prashant Bhushan guilty of having committed criminal contempt of this Court.

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