Lawyer Prashant Bhushan has agreed to pay the fine imposed by the Supreme Court. Prashant Bhushan said he had always believed the Supreme Court is the "last bastion of hope for the weak and oppressed" and that he never intended to hurt the judiciary, but wanted to express his anguish on a "deviation from its record".
Bhushan Tweeted a photo from his social media account writing " My lawyer & senior colleague Rajiv Dhavan contributed 1 Re immediately after the contempt judgement today which I gratefully accepted".
The Supreme Court, which had asked for an unconditional apology from the lawyer, noted, "We gave several opportunities and encouragement to (Prashant Bhushan) to express regret. He not only gave wide publicity to the second statement but also gave various interviews to press."
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The court was apparently referring to Prashant Bhushan's statement refusing to retract his comments or apologise, saying he considered it the discharge of his "highest duty" and apologising would be contempt of his conscience and the court. Mr Bhushan had also said that open criticism was necessary to "safeguard the democracy and its values."
