CHRI, CJAR Other Bodies Condemns Supreme Court Judgment In Prashant Bhushan Contempt Case
Live LawThe Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms has issued a statement condemning the decision of the Supreme Court in the Prashant Bhushan contempt case. Talking about the "hasty" manner in which the contempt proceedings were instituted against Mr. Bhushan and concluded, the CJAR said, "When the functioning of the court has been disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and important cases concerning the rights of millions are being adjourned for weeks and months, the haste with which the Court has proceeded to hear and convict Mr Bhushan is unseemly and sends a message of stern consequence to those who choose to express themselves in manners that are not palatable to Judges." If Two Tweets Can Bring Down Court's Authority, Then It Is Not As Strong As We Imagined: Senior Adv Sanjay Hegde Statement of CHRI The Top Court's decision has also been slammed by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, as being a sign of "deterioration" in the state of free speech in the country. The Indian Executive Board of CHRI, headed by former CIC Wajahat Habibullah and comprising of distinguished jurists like Justice Madan B Lokur, former Judge of the Supreme Court and Justice AP Shah, former Chief Justice of High Courts of Delhi and Madras, among others said, "However uncharitable or inappropriate the tweets might be, the Hon'ble Court "in passing the judgement, has made it clear that 'the majesty of the law and of the administration of justice' is above the fundamental freedom of expression sending a chilling message about the cost of criticism."