The Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra on Monday imposed the fine of Rs 1 in after declaring him guilty of contempt. The Bench also comprising Justices BR Gavai and Krishna Murari said in its 82-page judgment that Bhushan may have to face a three-month jail sentence and ban from legal practice in the event that he failed to pay the fine. The judgment triggered meme fest on social media, where Twitterati were seen ridiculing Justice Mishra.
Filmmaker Shirish Kunder said, “Considering the GDP, Re 1 seems like a very high fine.” “One user asked, “Rs.1, is it with or without GST?” Another wrote, “What kind of justice is a fine of only Rs 1 and a of Rs 1000 if we do not wear a mask. Great justice.”
Considering the GDP, Re 1 seems like a very high fine.
— Shirish Kunder (@ShirishKunder) August 31, 2020
What kind of justice is a fine of only Rs 1 and a fine of Rs 1000 if we do not wear a mask. Great justice @SCofIndia @PMOIndia @RahulGandhi @ArvindKejriwal @CMOGuj @AmitShahOffice @vijayrupanibjp @abpasmitatv @News18Guj @BBCHindi @DDNewsGujarati @ndtv
— Karan Pithadiya (@karan_pithadiya) August 31, 2020
Rs.1 Fine, is it with or without GST?
— Imran Khan عمران خان ఇమ్రాన్ ఖాన్ (@Immuknr) August 31, 2020
After Court order on Prashant Bhusan-:A fine of Rs 1 has been imposed on you.
.
Prashant Bhusan-:How do I arrange such a huge amount?.??#PrashantBhushan #RE1
.@imthakur25 @pbhushan1— Pallav Kumar Singh Jha (@PallavKumarSi18) August 31, 2020
Isn’t this a joke by SC by imposing fine of Rs 1 rupee only…?
Morover he will surely file the the review petition.— Mumtaz Ahmed (@Ahmmed_Mumtaz) August 31, 2020
What will anybody get if pays Rs. 1. If he was guilty, he should have been sent to jail – equivalent to the term any commoner would have been given – without the joke of Rs.1 fine.
— UrbanMonk?? (@Amit_Ind) August 31, 2020
The Supreme Court said in its order, “… We cannot retaliate merely because the contemnor has made a statement that he is neither invoking the magnanimity or the mercy of this Court and he is ready to submit to the penalty that can be lawfully be inflicted upon him for what the Court has determined to be an offence.”
It added, “We are not afraid of sentencing the contemnor either with imprisonment or from debarring him from the practice. His conduct reflects adamance and ego, which has no place to exist in the system of administration of justice and in noble profession, and no remorse is shown for the harm done to the institution to which he belongs.”
Reacting to the verdict, Bhushan said that he will happily pay the penalty even though he plans to file a review petition challenging the sentencing.
He said in a statement, “The Supreme Court of India has announced its verdict on the contempt case against me. It holds me guilty of contempt of court and has decided to impose a fine of Re 1, and failing that imprisonment of three months and debarring me from practicing for three years.
“I had already said in my first statement to the Court: “I am here to cheerfully submit to any penalty that can lawfully be inflicted upon me for what the Court has determined to be an offence, and what appears to me to be the highest duty of a citizen”. Therefore, while I reserve the right to seek a review of the conviction and sentencing, by way of an appropriate legal remedy, I propose to submit myself to this order and will respectfully pay the fine, just as I would have submitted to any other lawful punishment.”
Bhushan also tweeted his photo with his senior colleague Rajeev Dhavan by flashing a Rs. 1 coin.
The Supreme Court had initiated a suo motu contempt proceeding against Bhushan for his tweet posted on 29 June against CJI SA Bobde for riding a Harley Davidson bike in Nagpur.
Bhushan had tweeted, “CJI rides a 50 Lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP leader at Raj Bhavan Nagpur, without a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC in Lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental right to access Justice!”
Justice Mishra had also taken note of Bhushan’s another tweet, posted in July. His tweet had read, “When historians in future look back at the last 6 years to see how democracy has been destroyed in India even without a formal Emergency, they will particularly mark the role of the Supreme Court in this destruction, & more particularly the role of the last 4 CJIs.”