Appeal against conviction in contempt cases should be heard by larger, different bench: Prashant Bhushan moves SC
Sep 12, 2020
New Delhi [India], September 12 : Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Saturday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking directions for an appeal against conviction in criminal contempt cases to be heard by a larger and a different bench.
Bhushan, in his petition filed through lawyer Kamini Jaiswal, said that the right of appeal is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution of India and is also guaranteed under international laws.
"This would act as a vital safeguard against wrongful conviction and would truly enable the provision of truth as a defense," Bhushan said in his plea.
The development comes even as the Supreme Court is hearing a contempt of court case against Bhushan for his interview to a magazine in 2009 in which he was quoted as saying that half of the 16 former Chief Justices of India (CJIs) were corrupt.
Earlier, Bhushan was also convicted and a fine of Re 1 was imposed on him by the top court in connection with a suo motu criminal contempt of court case over two of his tweets.
One of the tweets, posted on June 29, was related to his post on a picture of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde on a high-end bike. In his second tweet, Bhushan had expressed his opinion on the role of the last four CJIs amid the state of affairs in the country.
