More than 3,000 members of civil society including former judges, retired bureaucrats, journalists and lawyers, on Monday criticised the Su...
More than 3,000 members of civil society including former judges, retired bureaucrats, journalists and lawyers, on Monday criticised the Supreme Court’s order to hold advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt for his tweets on the judiciary. The signatories said that expressing concern about the functioning of the judiciary was the fundamental right of every citizen.
The signatories include former Supreme Court judges Ruma Pal, B Sudershan Reddy, Madan B Lokur, human rights activist Harsh Mander and historian Romila Thapar.
They said in their statement that the Supreme Court should have taken Bhushan’s criticism in spirit. “The intention of that expression was to urge the apex court to restart physical hearings, particularly of matters of national importance,” the signatories said. “The intention was also to engage with the concerns articulated by many regarding the reluctance of the judiciary to play its constitutionally mandated role as a check on governmental excesses and violations of fundamental rights by the state.”
The signatories added that the top court’s judgement against Bhushan was “disproportionate” and could damage its reputation. “If a tweet by an individual is perceived by the judiciary as destroying public confidence in the institution, it speaks poorly of the judiciary’s confidence in itself,” the signatories said in their...
