Prashant Bhushan Contempt Case: A Silenced Bar Can’t Lead To A Strong Court, Senior Lawyers Say
Group of lawyers issue statement expressing dismay over contempt judgment in Prashant Bhushan’s case.
A group of more than 40 lawyers from Delhi and Mumbai has expressed support for Advocate Prashant Bhushan who was found guilty of contempt of court by the Supreme Court last week.
Their statement, on Aug. 17, said that while some of the signatories do not agree with the content of Bhushan’s tweets, they unanimously believe that the tweets do not qualify as contempt of court.
"While Mr. Prashant Bhushan as a lawyer of good standing of the Supreme Court, may not be an ordinary man, his tweets do not say anything out of the ordinary, other than what is routinely expressed about the court’s working in recent years by many on public fora and on social media," the letter said. "Even some retired judges of the Supreme Court have expressed somewhat similar views."
BloombergQuint verified the statement with at least 10 signatories. Among the lawyers who are signatories to the statement are Senior Advocates Darius Khambata, Navroz Seervai, Dushyant Dave, Vrinda Grover, former Additional Solicitor General of India AS Chandiok, Chander Uday Singh, Raju Ramachandran, Arvind Datar, and Ramji Srinivasan.
Last week, a top court bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra had found portions of two tweets by Bhushan to be in criminal contempt of the court. The tweets were posted in June and the court took suo motu cognisance in July.
This judgment does not restore the authority of the court in the eyes of the public, the statement by the lawyers says. Rather, it will discourage lawyers from being outspoken, it says.
From the days of the supersession of judges and the events thereafter, it has been the bar that has been the first to stand in defence of the independence of the judiciary. A bar silenced under the threat of contempt will undermine the independence and ultimately the strength of the court. A silenced bar cannot lead to a strong court.Statement By Senior Advocates In Prashant Bhushan Contempt Case
The top court in this case had issued notice to the Attorney General for India as well and sought his assistance in the case. However, the bench didn’t seek his views during the arguments.
‘’We also express a deep sense of disappointment about the Supreme Court’s utter disregard of the presence of the Learned Attorney General, a highly respected lawyer of great eminence, and its refusal to seek his valuable opinion in the matter, which is mandated even as per contempt law," says the statement.
Separately, the Bar Association of India has come out in support of Bhushan and said the judgment has potential for more self harm than the ‘’avowed purpose of safeguarding the prestige of the institution’’
Judgments that curb the exercise of freedom of speech and expression by a member of the Bar by resort to suo motu powers is conspicuously old-fashioned. The reputation of the Supreme Court of India cannot be dislodged by a couple of ‘tweets’. At a time that the citizenry is facing huge challenges, the stature of the Supreme Court would stand enhanced by allowing criticism rather than taking umbrage at such remarks.Bar Association of India
The top court will decide on sentencing on Aug. 20. Bhushan is likely to file a review petition against the Aug. 14 judgment.
The lawyers' statement urged the court to not implement the judgment "until a larger bench, sitting in open court after the pandemic, has the opportunity to review the standards of criminal contempt".
‘’We do believe that the Supreme Court will hear the voice of the people expressed all around in last 72 hours on the subject and take corrective steps to prevent miscarriage of justice and restore the confidence and respect that citizens have generally reposed in it."
By late evening, one of the lawyers who is also a signatory to the statement said it had gathered over 1,000 signatures. BloombergQuint was not able to verify that number.