New Delhi, October 1: Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, convicted in August for his "defamatory" tweets against the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of India, filed a petition before the apex court seeking a review of its verdict. The top judicial body had imposed a fine of Re 1 on Bhushan in the contempt of court case. Prashant Bhushan Contempt Case Timeline: Chronology of Events From June 27 to August 31, 2020.
While the activist-lawyer had deposited the fine last month, he had publicly expressed his disapproval over the court order. "Just because I'm paying the fine does not mean I have accepted the verdict. We have filed a writ petition that there must be an appeal procedure created for conviction under contempt," he had said
If Bhushan would had not submitted the fine amount, he would have drawn a punishment of three-month jail term, along with being debarred from practising in the apex court for three years.
Update by ANI
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan files petition before Supreme Court, seeking review of its August 31 judgement slapping a fine of Re 1 on him for contempt of the court. pic.twitter.com/YiLyxVS6ul
— ANI (@ANI) October 1, 2020
In case the Supreme Court, while hearing the review petition, overturns its order and acquits Bhushan of the contempt charge, the fine amount is expected to be refunded.
The contempt case against Bhushan raised a debate over the freedom of expression, as the lawyer had decided to face the court's wrath rather than apologising for his contentious tweets.
"If I retract a statement before this court that I otherwise believe to be true or offer an insincere apology, that in my eyes would amount to the contempt of my conscience and of an institution that I hold in highest esteem," his statement read.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 01, 2020 11:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).