The spirited fight by Indian Against Corruption activist and prominent lawyer Prashant Bhushan in Supreme Court has earned him a national hero status. His face-off with world most powerful body-supreme court- is now being compared what Mahatma Gandhi did in South Africa. Mahatma Gandhi refused to leave the province or pay a bond for getting bail. flustered the judge asked Gandhi, "Do you want to go to jail?". Mahatma replied "As you wish".
And in the same spirit, on Supreme Court threat of prison, Bhushan quoted Mahatma Gandhi: "I do not ask for mercy. I do not appeal for magnanimity. I will cheerfully submit to any punishment that court may impose."
Supreme court convicted Mr Bhushan of contempt of court On 14 August, On Monday he was ordered to pay a symbolic fine of one rupee for two tweets criticizing judges. If he didn't pay the fine by 15 September, he would have to spend three months in jail and barred from law practice for three years.
Mr Bhushan has agreed to pay the fine but retained his right to challenge the order and seek a review.
Prashant Bhushan's face-off with judiciary began in June, after he posted two tweets to his 1.6 million followers.
In one, he commented on a viral photograph of Chief Justice Sharad Bobde sitting on an expensive Harley Davidson motorbike. In the second, he criticized the conduct of the four former chief justices.
His conviction led to a storm of protest .More than 3,000 retired judges, lawyers and eminent citizens signed a statement saying holding Mr Bhushan guilty of contempt would have a "chilling effect on people expressing critical views on functioning of the top court".Thousands took to social media to express their support for the lawyer-activist, and hundreds came out on the streets in solidarity.
Bhushan has, often, been involved in politics of problematic. He stood for plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir. To call for a plebiscite (or referendum), is seen in India as play in Pakistan’s hands.
Until 2017, Prashant Bhushan was with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He was associated with the anti-corruption movement, India Against Corruption. Bhushan was one of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party, but only to part ways with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.
However, as a lawyer, Bhushan has to his credit a long list of public interest cases. So, when his tweets raised the hackles of the Supreme Court, it was disapproved by the media. A few national dailies even wrote editorials questioning the Supreme Court move to issue the notice over contempt proceedings to Bhushan, Outlook ran an op-ed. A group of public figures later came out with an appeal requesting the top court to take back the notice. Supreme Court, has itself said that “voice of dissent in a democracy cannot be shut down”. Then why to stifle Bhushan's voice of dissent.
The right to dissent is the cornerstone of a democracy. It’s for this reason that we should defend Bhushan’s right to criticize even judiciary, Why should judges be sacrosanct?