Lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan, held guilty of contempt for his tweets, has been fined ₹1 by the Supreme Court. If he doesn’t pay the fine by September 15, he can go to jail for three months or be banned from practicing for three years.
“Freedom of speech cannot be curtailed,” said the apex court while handing down the sentence. The court also said, “We gave several opportunities to Bhushan to express regret.”
Bhushan had refused to retract his comments, saying he considered it as discharge of his ‘highest duty’ and apologising would be contempt of his conscience and the court. Open criticism was necessary to ‘safeguard the democracy and its values’, he had said, adding that he would cheerfully accept punishment.
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