Indian lawyer, convicted by Supreme Court over tweets, faces deadline

NEW DELHI:

One of India’s most prominent lawyers faces a Monday deadline to apologise to the Supreme Court or risk jail in a case testing the judiciary’s openness to criticism and sparking a debate on freedom of speech in the world’s largest democracy.

rashant Bhushan, 63, was found guilty of criminal contempt for attempting “to scandalize the entire institution” with Twitter posts depicting the chief justice on a motorcycle while the court’s work was curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and criticising previous top judges.

The top court on Thursday ordered Bhushan, who has championed public interest litigation, to issue an “unconditional apology” by Monday. He faces up to six months in jail or a fine of 2,000 rupees ($27) or both.

“Any apology would be insincere,” Bhushan told Reuters, declining to comment further as the matter is before the court.

He told the court in a statement on Thursday that he would “cheerfully submit to any penalty” over the two June tweets, which he said “represented my bonafide beliefs, the expression of which must be permissible in any democracy.”

If Bhushan apologises, the court has said it would hold a hearing on Tuesday. It was not clear when or how the court would respond if he does not apologise.

Regardless of the outcome, Bhushan’s case is putting the Supreme Court, one of India’s most respected institutions, on trial, testing how much judges may be openly criticised in a society known for free-wheeling debate.

Freedom of speech is a fundamental right in India and highly contentious. The top court often hears cases where litigants argue their right to express themselves is being infringed.

Some lawyers and media editorials support Bhushan, saying the court is being too harsh, arguing that his tweets amounted to legally protected criticism.