Prashant Bhushan moves Supreme Court seeking hearing on plea for intra-court appeal before review petitions are adjudicated

Background

Activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan was found guilty of contempt of court by the Supreme Court on 14th August for two of his tweets against the functioning of the Indian judiciary.

The court held that his tweets 'cannot be said to be fair criticism of the functioning of the judiciary made in the public interest” and sentenced him to either pay a nominal fine of Re 1 or face a 3-month jail term and debarment from law practice for a period of 3-years.

Advocate Bhushan paid the Re 1 fine on September 14 with the apex court's registry.

He has filed a plea before the Supreme Court to hear his writ petition for intra-court appeal a day before the court is to take up his review petition in the contempt case.

Highlights

In the petition, Mr. Bhushan has prayed before the court that 'a person convicted in an original criminal contempt case by this Hon'ble Court would have a right to an intra-court appeal to be heard by a larger and different bench and for laying down rules and guidelines for the same OR in the alternative, an appropriate writ, order, or direction declaring that review petitions filed against orders of conviction by Supreme Court in original criminal contempt cases would be heard in open court by a different bench.”

He has stated that the aforesaid prayer has a direct bearing on the review petitions filed by him and it would be in the interest of justice if the top court would apply its mind to the review petitions after the separate plea filed by him is heard or adjudicated upon.

He said that despite seeking urgent listing of the petition on September 14, the matter still has not been listed before the court "whereas instant and connected review petitions have been suddenly listed for hearing on December 16, 2020".

Mr. Bhushan has also suggested in a separate petition procedural changes in contempt cases so that the chances of arbitrary, vengeful and high-handed decisions are reduced stating that since the top court is the aggrieved party, the prosecutor, the witness and the judge in such cases, the fear of inherent bias is increased.

He has stated in his petition that the right to appeal is a fundamental right which is guaranteed not just under the constitution but also under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which India has ratified.

In the plea he has also sought a direction for framing rules and guidelines 'providing for intra-court appeal against conviction in original criminal contempt cases”.

He has further stated that this would act as 'vital safeguard against wrongful conviction and would truly enable the provision of truth as a defence".

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