New Delhi, August 19: A day before the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear arguments on his sentencing in a contempt of court case, lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan filed a plea seeking deferment of the hearing. The convict, in his plea, claimed that the hearing on quantum of punishment should be postponed till his review petition is taken up by the court.

Bhushan was, on August 14, held guilty by the apex court bench comprising of Justices Arun Mishra, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari. The top judicial body had taken suo motu cognisance of his two recent tweets, and an interview to Tehelka magazine in 2009. Prashant Bhushan Pronounced Guilty of Contempt of Court For His Tweets on CJI And Others, Hearing on Punishment on Aug 20.

Bhushan, who has appeared as the prime litigant in several cases including the alleged 2G spectrum allocation and coal block scams over the past decade, was charged with bringing "disrepute" towards the institution of judiciary through his tweets.

Update by ANI

During the course of hearing, Bhushan had refused to apologise for most his remarks, except for expressing regret over a jibe he took at the incumbent Chief Justice of India (CJI) after he was photographed with the Harley Davidson motorbike in Nagpur.

The punishment for contempt of court,  as per section 12 of Contempt of Court Act, 1971, could range from a simple imprisonment of six months, or a fine of Rs 2,000, or both.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2020 02:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).