Supreme Court lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan has refused to apologise for his tweets about the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of India SA Bobde. On August 14, Prashant was held guilty of contempt by the Apex court for his tweets on the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and the Supreme Court. In one tweet, he accused Chief Justice SA Bobde of riding a motorcycle while keeping the court in lockdown thereby denying citizens their right to justice. This was after CJI Bobde was photographed last month in Nagpur, sitting astride a Harley Davidson without wearing a helmet or a mask. The second tweet was regarding four previous Chief Justices of India. He accused them of having a role in "destroying democracy."
At a previous hearing that was held on Thursday, the court had granted Prashant a few days time to offer an unconditional apology, asking him to "reconsider" his statements via the tweets. However, Prashant has refused to retract or apologise as the time window given to him expired on Monday.
"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 I hold in highest esteem," he told the three-judge bench hearing the case.
“My tweets represented this bonafide belief that I continue to hold. Public expression of these beliefs was I believe, in line with my higher obligations as a citizen and a loyal officer of this court. Therefore, an apology for expression of these beliefs, conditional or unconditional, would be insincere," he further added.
He stated that he has utmost faith and respect for the apex court as an institution. His statements were made in "constructive criticism."
“I believe that the Supreme Court is the last bastion of hope for the protection of fundamental rights, the watchdog institutions and indeed for constitutional democracy itself. It has rightly been called the most powerful court in the democratic world, and often an exemplar for courts across the globe. Today in these troubling times, the hopes of the people of India vest in this Court to ensure the rule of law and the Constitution and not an untrammeled rule of the executive,” he said on Monday.