Prashant Bhushan moves to SC, seeks deferment of hearing on sentence till review plea considered

Advocate Prashant Bhushan on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court with a plea to defer the hearing on his sentence, scheduled on Thursday, to enable him file review petition against the judgement of August 14, holding him guilty of criminal contempt.

In an application, he said he would file the review within the limitation period of 30 days after studying the verdict and seeking legal counsel.

A three-judge bench presided over by Justice Arun Mishra is set to hear on Thursday arguments on sentence against Bhushan that may extend up to maximum six months jail with or without fine.

In the "interests of justice in view of the underlying public policy with respect to safeguarding the liberty of a citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution," the hearing on sentence be deferred until the proposed review petition is filed and decided, his plea stated.

Bhushan, who was convicted of criminal contempt for two tweets, said that in such proceedings, the top Court functions as a trial court and is also the last resort.

"Section 19(1) gives a statutory right of appeal to a person found guilty of contempt by the High Court. The fact that there is no appeal against an order of this court makes it doubly necessary that it takes the utmost precaution to ensure that justice is not only done but seen to be done," he said