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Journalism of Courage
Sticking to his allegation that there was corruption in the judiciary,senior lawyer and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan today refused to apologise to the Supreme Court asserting he was willing to be jailed for contempt.
“The question of apology does not arise. I am prepared to go to jail,” Bhushan told a three-judge Special Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir Cyriac Joseph and H L Dattu hearing the contempt case against his lawyer-son Prashant Bhushan.
The senior counsel made the remarks when the Bench,during the hearing,asked whether he and his son Prashant Bhushan were willing to tender an apology to avoid being hauled up for contempt.
“I am of the firm belief that there is lot of corruption in the judiciary,” Shanti Bhushan said while intervening during the arguments.
When the Bench asked him what he means by the expression,”I am”,the former Law Minister responded by stating “I mean both of us(father and son). He then asked the Bench to decide the intervention application moved earlier by him wherein he has given a list of alleged corrupt former Chief Justices.
The Bench then told him that it would deal with the application at a later stage.
The apex court also took exception to the remarks of senior counsel Rajeev Dhawan who submitted “there was no doubt that there was corruption in the judiciary.”
“Don’t say there is no doubt. You can’t make a general statement. Don’t make a sweeping statement. Propriety demands it,” Justice Kabir,heading the Bench,said.
Dhawan is appearing for Tarun J Tejpal,Editor-in-Chief of Tehelka magazine which had published Prashant Bhushan’s interview carrying the alleged contemptuous remarks against the judiciary and is arraigned as a contemnor along with Prashant Bhushan.
The apex court took cognizance of the matter after senior counsel Harish Salve,who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in environment-related matters,moved an application for initiating contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan.
He had alleged half of the last 16 Chief Justices were corrupt.
The apex court posted the matter for further hearing to December 7.
