The Supreme Court today held advocate Prashant Bhushan, the darling of the lobbyists, guilty of contempt of court for casting aspersions against the apex court, especifically CJI SA Bobde.
This judgement could land him in jail for up to six months.
Who is Bhushan?
Bhushan has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. He fought legal battles for terrorists like Yakub Memon and called the day of his execution a sad day for India.
He also had tried to stop deportation of illegal Rohingyas to Myanmar. The Supreme Court however dismissed Bhushan’s plea.
Rafale Case: Attorney General KK Venugopal had accused Bhushan for stealing files from the defence ministry in Rafale case hearing.
Venugopal had said that the presentation of the notes was a violation of the Official Secrets Act and the government was contemplating action against Bhushan for using stolen classified documents.
Mallya’s Extradition Case: Bhushan and his team are accused of targeting CBI Officer Rakesh Asthana during Mallya’s trial in London in a bid to deliberately weaken the case to allow Mallya escape extradition.
The cabal had alleged that CBI was helping Mallya by presenting a weak case. They alleged Asthana was a corrupt officer and his actions against Mallya were politically motivated. Bhushan’s NGO Common Cause, which had filed a petition against his appointment, had supplied arguments against Mallya’s extradition.
Judge Loya Case: In 2018, a contempt petition was filed against Bhushan for making reckless imputations against the judiciary after the Supreme Court gave its judgement in Sahara-Birla Payoff and Judge Loya cases.
Bushan had declared the dismissal of Sahara-Birla Payoff case as a “black day” in the annals of Supreme Court’s history. The court had dismissed Bhushan’s plea, observing that mere diary entries cannot be considered as evidence.
He also had declared dismissal of Judge Loya case by levelling allegations that the verdict was passed at the instance of some person (Amit Shah) and to shield the culprits.
The petitioners had sought initiation of criminal contempt against Bhushan and others under Article 129 of the Constitution of India read with Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act.
Dalla Comment: Bhushan had called Delhi police as pimps for arresting far-left group Pinjra Tod activist Devangana Kalita, implicating that the police acted as per their wishes.
Devangana was booked for rioting in Delhi. She was accused of inciting local residents for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act and directing them to gather at Jafrabad metro station.
CBI Appointment Case: In 2019, Attorney General KK Venugopal had accused Bhushan for posting reckless tweets over Interim CBI Director M Nageshwar Rao’s appointment. He had alleged that Rao’s appointment was done without the consent of a high-powered committee consisting of the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Leader of the Opposition.
However, Venugopal furnished the document proving Bhushan’s claims false. He proved the court fixer’s lies by producing documents showing the then Opposition Leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s signatures testifying that the decision of appointing Rao was taken with his consent.
Flip-Flops: Bhushan is also known for his flip-flops, which testify his hate for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and of being a hypocrite. He flip-flopped on the appointment of Alok Verma as CBI Chief. Initially, he termed the appointment as illegal and alleged that it was done by Modi government to protect the corrupt in Rafale case.
After the government asked Alok Verma to go on leave, Bhushan took a diametrically opposite stance and vehemently protested against it.
Fake News Master: Bhushan also has been accused of peddling fake news to keep the anti-Modi campaign. He lied on Modi arranging Antiguan citizenship for PNB Scam accused Mehul Choksi by citing an article published in fake news portal Scroll.
Actually, Choksi became Antiguan citizen via Antigua’s investment program in 2017. Antigua’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne had also claimed that the citizenship was extended to Choksi when there was no Interpol’s red corner notice against him.
Bhushan had claimed that Choksi was granted Antiguan citizenship after Modi met Browne in April. The truth is, Choksi was already an Antiguan citizen, a few months before the PNB scandal broke and was named accused in the scam.
He also had made false claims about Reliance Jio illegally buying 30 crores phones from China.
There are many examples of Bhushan sharing unverified facts on his social media accounts to score petty political brownie points.
Reverting on the contempt case, the arguments on sentencing will begin on 20 August which could extend up to six months. The court took suo moto cognisance against Bhushan’s tweet against CJI on June 27 and June 29. It registered the case on July 9.
