Friday, March 29, 2024

“An apology would be contempt of my conscience”: Bhushan reiterates that he will not apologise

Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, held guilty of contempt for his tweets on Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and the Supreme Court, has refused to apologise as the three-day time window given by the top court expired today.

Bhushan has filed a statement before the Supreme Court, reiterating that he will not be apologising for his tweets.

Prashant Bhushan further said If he retract a statement before this court that he otherwise believe to be true or offer an insincere apology, that in his eyes would amount to the contempt of his conscience and of an institution that he hold in highest esteem.

“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. An apology cannot be a mere incantation and any apology has to, as the court has itself put it, be sincerely made. This is especially so when I have made the statements bonafide and pleaded truths with full details, which have not been dealt with by the Court,” a supplementary statement filed today through Advocate Kamini Jaiswal states.

Lawyer adds that he believes the Supreme Court is the last bastion of hope for the protection of fundamental rights and the watchdog of Constitutional democracy itself.

On August 14, the Supreme Court had found Prashant Bhushan guilty of criminal contempt of Court for two tweets criticising the judiciary. However, the question of sentence is yet to be decided.

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