No harm in apologising if mistake is made: SC reserves order on Prashant Bhushan's sentence
Aug 25, 2020
New Delhi [India], Aug 25 : Asking senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan to tender an apology for his allegedly contemptuous remarks, the Supreme Court on Tuesday told him that there is "no harm in apologising if a mistake has been made".
A bench of Justice Arun Mishra, without pointing out anyone's bane, said that there is no harm in apologising if a mistake had been done. "If you have hurt someone, why can't you apologise?" he asked.
The bench also reserved its judgement on the sentence of Bhushan in the contempt of court case over his tweets accusing former Chief Justices of India of corruption.
During the hearing, advocate Dr Rajeev Dhavan appeared for Bhushan and asked how as a judge in the Calcutta High Court, how he (Justice Arun Mishra) let go of Mamata Banerjee, lightly, after she said all the judges were corrupt.
"This institution must have criticism and not just criticism but extreme criticism. Your shoulders are broader enough, my lords," Dhavan said.
He further said that his client, Bhushan, had in his submissions stated that he has the highest regard for the institution but he has his opinion about last four Chief Justices of India (CJIs) about the way in which this court has gone wrong.
"We criticise this court when we feel sincere about this institution. We know our responsibility and our respect for the institution. Don't make him (Bhushan) a martyr," Dhavan said adding that the controversy will continue to depend on what punishment this court gives him.
To this, the apex court responded saying that it is about the system.
"If we are going to destroy each other, who will have faith in this institution? You have to be tolerant, see what the court is doing and why. Don't just attack. Judges can't go to press to defend themselves or explain. Whatever we have to say, we have to write in our judgments," Justice Mishra said.
Expressing his displeasure over the way the (Bhushan's) tweets were written, Justice Arun Mishra, said, that judges are condemned, their families are humiliated and they can't even speak.
"You are a leader of the bar. We expect you to be impartial. You may have love and affection for anyone but we want you to be fair. Don't take sides," the bench told Dhavan.
"For how long the system will suffer all this. I am retiring in a few days. Will it be okay if you or others start attacking me? Why to say you can say anything against retired judges,?" Justice Mishra said.
Bhushan was earlier this month held guilty of contempt of court by the Supreme Court for two of his tweets, the first one posted on June 29, related to his comment/post on a picture of CJI Bobde on a high-end bike.
In his second tweet, Bhushan expressed his opinion on the role of last four CJIs amid the state of affairs in the country.
Earlier today, the Supreme court also deferred the hearing on another contempt of court case against Prashant Bhushan and asked the Chief Justice of India to place before an "appropriate" bench questions arising out of the matter.
