Supreme Court issues notices to Prashant Bhushan, Attorney General K K Venugopal, for contempt proceedings over derogatory tweet

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a contempt notice to activist-advocate Prashant Bhushan for his tweets, bringing "administration of justice in disrepute" and "undermining the dignity and authority of the Supreme Court in general and the office of the Chief Justice of India in particular".

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari asked the counsel to explain why criminal contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.

The court noted the June 27 tweet by Bhushan wherein he accused four CJIs of "playing a role in destruction of democracy" was also reported in the print media. In another tweet on June 29, he accused the current CJI of "riding a Rs 50 lakh bike of a BJP leader" and keeping "the SC in lockdown denying citizens their fundamental right to justice".

"We are, prima facie, of the view that the 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," the bench said.

The Suo Motu criminal contempt case was registered by the court on July 9, after a decision was taken up on administrative side in this regard as a petition filed by advocate Mehak Maheshwari for initiating contempt proceedings against Bhushan did not carry mandatory permission from the Attorney General.

On Wednesday, the bench also issued notice to Attorney General K K Venugopal seeking his assistance.

Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya, appearing for Twitter Inc, contended it has got nothing to defend in the proceedings. He said Twitter is ready to disable the tweets if there is a court order to remove it.

Bhushan himself was not present during the proceedings conducted through video conferencing.

The court posted the matter for hearing on August 5.

Bhushan has already faced a contempt proceedings in 2019 on a petition filed by Attorney General K K Venugopal and the Union Government for his tweets of February 1 on appointment of M Nageshwara Rao as interim CBI director.

Earlier also, he faced another contempt before the top court for their statement alleging corruption against former Chief Justices of India.

The Contempt of Court Act carried the maximum punishment of six months jail term for those found guilty of any act for undermining the majesty of court and obstructing the administration of justice.