New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday imposed a token fine of Re 1 against activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan in the contempt case for his tweets against the judiciary.
A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra asked Bhushan to deposit the fine by September 15, failing which he will attract a jail term of three months and debarment from law practice for three years.
Freedom of speech cannot be curtailed but rights of others need to be respected, said the bench.
The verdict said not only the bench had persuaded Bhushan to express regret but Attorney General K K Venugopal had also opined that it was in the fitness of thing that the contemnor should express regret.
The bench also noted that the statements of Bhushan submitted in the court were released to the media before they were taken on record.
During an earlier hearing, the bench had orally observed that the sentence, if any, will not be enforced against Bhushan till the decision is taken on his plea seeking review of the judgement convicting him in the contempt case. (PTI)
