On Saturday, Lawyer Prashant
Bhushan approached the Apex Court praying that an additional legal remedy
should be provided in those cases where people are convicted by the Top Court
in original criminal contempt cases.
Original criminal contempt cases
are those which are heard directly by the Apex Court in the first instance. In
such cases, if a person is convicted, he or she is left with no further remedy
as the SC is the highest Court in the country.
Prashant Bhushan has appealed that
in such a case, the convicted person should be afforded the right to an
intra-Court appeal, i.e. a larger bench of the SC, different from the bench
which convicted the concerned person, should hear a plea against such
conviction.
The plea said that “The right to
appeal against conviction in original criminal cases is a substantive right
under Article 21 and flows from principles of natural justice. The absence of
such a right thus violates (right to life under) Article 21".
Moreover, contempt proceedings are
one wherein the injured party is the Supreme Court itself and it acts as the
prosecutor, the witness and the judge, thereby raising fear of inherent bias.
Thus, there is a need for an intra-court appeal, the plea said.
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If an intra-Court appeal can't be
allowed, then as an alternative, review pleas filed against orders of
conviction by Apex Court in original criminal contempt cases would be heard in
open court by a different bench, Bhushan prayed.
The Top Court had recently held
Bhushan guilty of criminal contempt for his tweets criticising the SC and CJI
SA Bobde.
On Aug 31, the Court imposed a
token fine of Rs 1 as punishment for the same.
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Another contempt case, initiated by
the Supreme Court in 2009 for his remarks that past Chief Justices of India
were corrupt, is also pending before the Top Court.
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