38.6c New Delhi, India, Friday, March 29, 2024
Judiciary

Suo Moto Contempt Case Registered by the Supreme Court against Prashant Bhushan and Twitter India

By Ishita Joshi      23 July, 2020 05:08 PM      0 Comments
Suo Moto Contempt Case Registered by the Supreme Court against Prashant Bhushan and Twitter India

The Supreme Court of India registered a suo moto ‘contempt of court case’ against Prashant Bhushan and Twitter India. The case is listed before a Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai, and Krishna Murari on Wednesday, 22nd July 2020. As per the records of the Supreme Court, the case is seen registered at 3:48 pm on Tuesday, 21st July 2020, and is numbered as SMC (Crl) 1/2020. The cause of action on suo moto case proceeding is yet to be known. A contempt case registered in 2009 against Prashant Bhushan and Tarun Tejpal who is a former editor of Tehelka magazine is also listed before the same bench to be heard on Friday, 24th July 2020. The case relates to certain comments made by Bhushan in an interview to Tehelka magazine against former Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia. 

On Wednesday, 22 July 2020, the Supreme Court issued a notice to seeking his response on why any action should not be taken against him for tweeting such serious allegations against the judiciary. The Supreme Court also asked Twitter India as to why it did not remove Mr. Bhushan’s tweets when a contempt action became evident. Contempt proceeding has also been started against Twitter India. The Indian arm of the microblogging website said it will convey the top court's message to its parent Twitter Inc. 

Last month, Mr. Bhushan alleged the judiciary had a hand in dealing with damage to democracy. In an order dated Tuesday, 21st July 2020, the Supreme Court said, “Prashant Bhushan's tweets undermine the dignity and authority of the Institution of the Supreme Court and the office of the Chief Justice of India in the eyes of the public.” The Supreme Court asked the Attorney General to aid the court in this issue, noting that the correct party in this situation is Twitter Inc, based in California, and not Twitter India. The Three-Judge bench of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Krishna Murari then allowed the social media company to file a petition that it felt was appropriate for the matter. 

The Supreme Court took up contempt proceedings on its own against Mr. Bhushan for two tweets. On 27th June 2020, Prashant Bhushan accused the Supreme Court of playing a part in the "destruction of India's democracy" in the last six years. He tweeted, “When historians in the future look back at the last 6 years to see how democracy has been destroyed in India even without a formal Emergency, they will particularly mark the role of the Supreme Court in this destruction, and more particularly the role of the last four CJIs.” 

His second tweet, on 29th June 2020, Bhushan posted a photograph of CJI S.A. Bobde sitting on a Harley Davidson motorcycle in Pune along with the text “CJI rides a 50 Lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP leader at Raj Bhavan Nagpur, without a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC in Lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental right to access justice!” 

The Supreme Court stated, “A petition was presented before us for contempt proceeding on the administrative side. We have gone through the petition and the allegation against CJI SA Bobde. The tweet in question was tweeted on June 27... We issue a notice to the Attorney General. We also note that the correct party here is Twitter Inc of California and not Twitter India. Twitter permitted to file an appropriate application.” 

The Court will hear the matter on 5th August 2020. 



Share this article:



Leave a feedback about this
TRENDING NEWS

arvind-kejriwals-plea-for-interim-release-rejected-by-delhi-high-court
Trending Judiciary
Arvind Kejriwal's plea for interim release rejected by Delhi High Court [Read Order]

Delhi High Court rejects Arvind Kejriwal's plea for interim release in money laundering case related to liquor policy scam, pending ED's response.

28 March, 2024 10:50 AM
youtuber-strings-plea-against-youtube-accounts-suspension-andhra-pradesh-hc-issues-notice-to-centre-google
Trending Top Stories
BREAKING: Youtuber String’s plea against Youtube accounts suspension: Andhra Pradesh HC issues notice to Centre, Google

Andhra Pradesh High Court issues notice to the Centre and Google LLC on Youtube journalist String’s plea against suspension of its accounts by Google (which owns Youtube).

28 March, 2024 11:26 AM

TOP STORIES

delhi-liquor-scam-court-remands-arvind-kejriwal-to-ed-custody-till-march-28-read-remand-application
Trending Judiciary
Delhi liquor scam: Court remands Arvind Kejriwal to ED custody till March 28 [Read Order]

Delhi liquor scam: Arvind Kejriwal remanded to ED custody till March 28. Court grants agency permission for interrogation in liquor policy case.

23 March, 2024 11:53 AM
sc-dismisses-centres-plea-for-review-of-judgment-directing-ed-to-furnish-written-grounds-of-arrest-to-pmla-accused
Trending Judiciary
SC dismisses Centre’s plea for review of judgment directing ED to furnish written grounds of arrest to PMLA accused [Read Order]

Supreme Court dismisses Centre's plea, upholds judgment mandating Enforcement Directorate to provide written grounds of arrest in PMLA cases.

23 March, 2024 03:14 PM
kerala-hc-to-hear-lesbian-couples-plea-against-forced-conversion-therapy-on-april-9
Trending Judiciary
Kerala HC to hear lesbian couple’s plea against forced conversion therapy on April 9

Kerala HC will hear a lesbian couple’s plea highlighting that one of them was subjected to forced conversion therapy.

23 March, 2024 03:30 PM
how-can-people-be-compelled-to-vote-madras-hc-asks
Trending Judiciary
“How can people be compelled to vote? Madras HC asks

“How can people be compelled to vote?”, the Madras HC queried in a plea asking employers in Tamil Nadu to demand proof from employees of having voted on polling day.

23 March, 2024 05:04 PM

ADVERTISEMENT


Join Group

Signup for Our Newsletter

Get Exclusive access to members only content by email