SC holds Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt for tweets against CJI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday held activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt for his tweets against Chief Justice of India and the judiciary."We hold the contemnor guilty for his tweets," a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said in its judgement. 

The Apex Court  decided to hear the quantum of sentence on August 20 against the advocate. The contempt law carries the maximum jail term of six months.On June 27, Prashant Bhushan accused four CJIs of "playing a role in destruction of democracy". 

On June 29, he accused the current CJI Justice SA Bobde of "riding a Rs 50 lakh bike of a BJP leader" and keeping "SC in lockdown denying citizens their fundamental right to justice".

Mehak Maheshwari, a Gwalior-based lawyer, filed a contempt petition against Mr Bhushan which was converted into suo motu criminal contempt.

On July 22, a three-judge bench led by Justice Mishra issued a notice to him.The court has asked Bhushan to explain tweets "undermining the dignity and authority of the Supreme Court in general and the office of the Chief Justice of India in particular".(UNI)