Prashant Bhushan fined Re 1 by Supreme Court in contempt case

Lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan, held guilty of contempt for his tweets criticising Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and the Supreme Court, has been fined Re 1 by the top court. If he doesn’t pay the fine by September 15, he can either face jail for three months or a ban from practicing for three years.

“Freedom of speech cannot be curtailed,” said the Supreme Court while handing down the sentence, referring to “sane advice” from Attorney General KK Venugopal to the court and to Prashant Bhushan.

Prashant Bhushan has said he will take a “collective decision” on whether to pay the fine or confront the other options.