By Matters India Reporter

New Delhi, Aug 22, 2020: A forum for Catholic nuns, brothers and priests practicing as lawyers says time has come for the self-examination of the Supreme Court of India.

“It is the right time for the Apex Court for its self-examination,” the National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests (NLFRP) stated on August 22 after observing that certain moves of the apex court have evoked bar associations across India to organize protests and demonstrations.

The forum says it was disturbed by the court’s full bench on August 20 holding Prashant Bhushan, a noted lawyer, guilty of criminal contempt of court for two tweets.

Bhushan was drawn into the case for the tweets dated July 27 and 29 on Chief Justice S A Bobde and the Supreme Court. One tweet was about a photograph of Justice Bobde astride a bike and another on how posterity would perceive the role played by the apex court in the past six years.

On August 14, the apex court found the tweets offensive and scandalizing the court.

Bhushan said the tweets embodied his bona fide belief and that it would be contemptuous on his part to apologize for something he believes in. He also said he would cheerfully submit to whatever punishment the court imposed on him.

He then quoted Mahatma Gandhi asking for neither mercy nor magnanimity from the judges. He said he was neither a cheerleader nor a courtier. He had, after all, served for 30 years as a humble guard of the court’s majesty.

The court has given the 63-year-old Delhi-based lawyer three days “to reconsider” his statement and sought an unconditional apology by August 24.

The forum for Catholic religious and priests termed as “unfortunate” that the court finding the tweets undermining “the dignity and authority of the institution of the Supreme Court of India and the Chief Justice of India and directly affronts the majesty of law.”

The forum has declared its solidarity to Bhushan as it finds him not just an individual but the “voice of millions of people and an icon of Right to Expression of our times.”

The forum commended Bhushan’s firm decision not to apologized being guided by his conscience.

The forum underscored that Bhushan’s tweet echoed the disappointments of millions of citizens. “One tweet is a reminder to an individual and not to the institution. All have been said with a good intention by a person who has been standing for protecting fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution and crusading against corruption with no personal gain,” the forum statement says.

The statement issued by Jesuit Father A Santhanam, spokesperson for the forum, appealed to all citizens to come together to preserve the right to freedom of expression.

The forum recalled an unprecedented press conference on January 12, 2018, where four sitting judges of the apex court “expressed publicly their disagreement with the then Chief Justice of India, over functioning of the judicial institution both in its administrative as also the judicial realm of functioning.”

“This way of revealing the displeasure had been first of its kinds after the country becoming Republic. This event shook the country and the faith one had on the highest Court of the country,” the forum asserted.

It has urged the judges to introspect on the observations made in a statement by eminent citizens, scholars and even former judges of Supreme Court and High Courts.

“The statement says that in the past few years, serious questions have been raised about the reluctance of the Supreme Court to play its constitutionally mandated role as a check on governmental excesses and violations of fundamental rights of people by the state. These questions have been raised by all sections of society – media, academics, civil society organizations, members of the legal fraternity and even by sitting and retired judges of the Supreme Court itself.”

The forum pointed out that the apex court’s recent reluctance to timely intervene to avert the migrant crisis during the lockdown had come under intense public scrutiny. “Concerns have also been raised regarding the decision of the court to not restart physical hearings, even in a limited manner, despite the passage of five months since the onset of the Covid pandemic.”

The forum also observed that India is the only country where the law of criminal contempt exists now. “This colonial old and irrelevant law has to be extinguished,” it asserted.

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The text of the statement is given below:

National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests (NLFRP)
Press Statement
Dated 22 August 2020

National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests (NLFRP) is disturbed by a Full Bench verdict of the Supreme Court holding Mr. Prashant Bhushan guilty of criminal contempt of court for the two tweets of him on 27 and 29 July. The court has considered that the tweets undermine the dignity and authority of the institution of the Supreme Court of India and the Chief Justice of India and directly affronts the majesty of law. This is in our opinion unfortunate.

The members of this forum are also as true citizens of India committed to safeguarding the sanctity of the utmost pillar of the constitutional democracy. But it is pertinent to mention that two years back, on 12th January 2018, in an unprecedented press conference, four of the then sitting SUPREME COURT judges namely Justices J. Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph expressed publicly to the media their disagreement with the then Chief Justice of India, over functioning of the judicial institution both in its administrative as also the judicial realm of functioning. The issues raised by the four senior judges were central to the independence of the judiciary: manner of deciding the roster and composition and strength of Benches, integrity of the judicial process, institutional integrity, transparency in appointment of judges, etc. This way of revealing the displeasure had been first of its kinds after the country becoming Republic. This event shook the country and the faith one had on the highest Court of the country.

The forum is also calling on the Hon’ble Judges of the Supreme Court to introspect on the observations made in a statement by eminent citizens, scholars and even former judges of Supreme Court and High Courts. The statement says that in the past few years, serious questions have been raised about the reluctance of the Supreme Court to play its constitutionally mandated role as a check on governmental excesses and violations of fundamental rights of people by the state. These questions have been raised by all sections of society – media, academics, civil society organizations, members of the legal fraternity and even by sitting and retired judges of the Supreme Court itself. Most recently, the Supreme Court’s reluctance to intervene in a timely manner to avert the migrant crisis during the lockdown came under intense public scrutiny. Concerns have also been raised regarding the decision of the Court to not restart physical hearings, even in a limited manner, despite the passage of five months since the onset of the COVID pandemic.

The forum underscores that the tweets of Mr. Prashant Bhushan give expression to the disappointments of millions of citizens. One tweet is a reminder to an individual and not to the institution. All have been said with a good intention by a person who has been standing for protecting fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution and crusading against corruption with no personal gain.

The Forum hopes that the Full Bench would give full consideration to the explanations submitted by the contemnor and take due note of the sentiments expressed by the responsible members of the Civil Society including many retired Justices of the Apex Court and Attorney General himself to Court not welcoming any punishment as otherwise it may appear to be an attempt to silence the voice of dissent from citizens including, activist advocates and civil societies that stand for justice.

Like CAA and EIA 2020, the contempt proceedings also attracted attention of numerous sections of people in the country and abroad. Various Bar Associations throughout the country have registered their opposition by protests and demonstrations against the moves of the Apex Court. It is the right time for the Apex Court for its self-examination.

The forum further observes that nowhere in the world the law of criminal contempt exists except in India. This colonial old and irrelevant law has to be extinguished. The country that gave birth to many of our laws itself has repealed it honoring the opinion of its law commission in 2013 itself. The forum appeals to the Apex Court to concentrate on vital issues like habeas corpus petitions connected to detentions in Jammu Kashmir, validity of CAA, issues related to Covid 19 in particular migrants issue and the suo motu case on the financial vulnerabilities of advocates due to prolonged lockdown and suspension of regular Court functioning throughout the country. And the forum is also cautioning the apex Court that it should not sling mud at itself in the name of protecting the pillar of constitutional democracy with an iron hand.

The forum through this statement declares its solidarity to Mr. Prashant Bhushan, because he is not a single individual, but a voice of millions of people and an icon of Right to Expression of our times. The forum appreciates his firmness in his stand guided by his conscience. The forum appeals to every responsible citizen to stand shoulder to shoulder to preserve the right to freedom of expression.

Press Statement issued by
Advocate A.Santhanam.SJ.
Spokesperson for
National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests
Mobile:6380255324
E-mail: santhansj@gmail.com