Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court fined Re. 1 by Supreme Court

Bhushan has to pay the fine by Sept 15 or else he could face a jail-term of three months or a ban from practicing law for three years.

"Freedom of speech cannot be curtailed," the apex court said while handing down the sentence.

Also Read: Contempt of court: Pained because I'm grossly misunderstood, Prashant Bhushan tells SC

The Supreme Court on Aug 14 held Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for tweeting against the judiciary and Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde.

Bhushan wrote on Twitter in June, "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".

In another tweet, he had said, "The CJI rides a Rs 50-lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] leader at Raj Bhavan, Nagpur, without wearing a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC on lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental right to access justice!"

Also Read: Prashant Bhushan should be let go with warning: Govt lawyer tells Supreme Court

Though Bhushan was given three days to retract from his statement even after being held guilty, the senior advocate had refused to do so saying any kind of an apology would be insincere. 

A top government lawyer last Tuesday told the Supreme Court that senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who has been held guilty of contempt of court, should be spared with a warning.