New Delhi: Lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan, held guilty of contempt for his tweets criticising Chief Justice of India (CJI) S.A. Bobde and the Supreme Court (SC), has been fined Re. 1 by the Top Court. If he doesn’t pay the fine by Sept. 15, he can go to jail for three months or be banned from practicing for three years.

“Freedom of speech cannot be curtailed,” said the SC while handing down the sentence, referring to “sane advice” from Attorney General K.K. Venugopal to the Court and to Prashant Bhushan. The Court also noted, “We gave several opportunities to (Bhushan) to express regret.”

Prashant Bhushan had refused to retract his comments or apologise, saying he considered it the discharge of his “highest duty” and apologising would be contempt of his conscience and the Court. Open criticism was necessary to “safeguard the democracy and its values,” he had said, adding that he would cheerfully accept punishment.

The SC had sought an unconditional apology, maintaining that freedom of speech is not absolute. “You may do hundreds of good things, but that doesn’t give you a licence to do ten crimes,” the Court said.

In the last hearing, Attorney General Venugopal had suggested that Bhushan be let off with a warning. “Bhushan’s tweets seek the improvement of the administration of justice… Let democracy follow in this case when he has exercised his free speech… It will be tremendously appreciated if the Court leaves it at that,” he had said.

Bhushan’s Counsel Rajeev Dhavan had argued that Top Court’s order giving him time for an unconditional apology was “an exercise in coercion”.  Bhushan should be forgiven with a message he said, arguing: “One cannot be silenced forever… A message that he (Bhushan) should be restrained in future should be enough.”

In one of the tweets, Prashant Bhushan had said four previous  CJIs played a role in destroying democracy in India in the last six years. Another tweet commenting on a photo of Chief Justice Bobde on a Harley Davidson last month, had flagged that he was without a helmet and face mask while keeping the Court in lockdown and denying citizens their right to justice.