Prashant Bhushan finds himself on the wrong side of the law

Activist-advocate Prashant Bhushan, who played a stellar role in innumerable public interest cases, found himself on the wrong side of the law after having been found guilty of Contempt of Court on Friday.

From Jain-Hawala diary case of the 1990s to 2G and Coal scam cases, Bhushan as a PIL lawyer had played a crucial role in making the judiciary act, when the executive had failed. He was also the lead counsel of NGO Samaj Parivartan Samudaya, which prompted the top court to check indiscriminate mining of iron ores in Karnataka.

In the past several decades, Bhushan has been central to the litigations in almost all public interest cases in the Supreme Court.

Of late, several of his PILs did not get the due success in the courts. Sahara Birla diary case, Mumbai judge B H Loya case, medical colleges bribery case, purchase of Rafale fighter jets were some of such instances. He has also been a staunch critic of the current dispensation.

However, his two tweets made in June proved to be his nemesis as this time, the Supreme Court decided to pursue the matter seriously. A 2009 contempt case arising from his interview to Tehelka magazine, which was kept in cold storage for years, has also been revived for consideration by the Court on August 17.