Supreme Court lets off Prashant Bhushan with fine of Re 1 in contempt case

Supreme Court Bench made it clear that if Bhushan defaults on payment of the fine, he may be sent to prison for three months and may be debarred from practicing for three years. The Supreme Court fined lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan a token fine of Re 1 in the contempt case against him for his tweets criticising the judiciary. Calling Bhushan’s statements an attempt to influence court proceedings, the Supreme Court Bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra asked him to submit the fine by 15 September, failing which he will be may be sent to prison for three months and be debarred from practicing law for three years, Bar and Bench reported. The court gave Bhushan time till 24 August to “submit an unconditional apology” for the “disparaging remarks against the institution and the judges”.