In Brief

An advocate, Prashant Bhushan, tweeted criticism of the Chief Justice and Supreme Court, claiming the CJI rode a luxury motorcycle while the Court was in 'lockdown' denying citizens access to justice, and that the Supreme Court and past CJIs had a role in destroying Indian democracy. The Supreme Court found both tweets constituted criminal contempt. The Court held that while fair criticism is protected speech, these statements were factually false, malicious, and calculated to undermine institutional confidence in the judiciary. The Court affirmed that contempt jurisdiction protects the administration of justice and public confidence in courts, not individual judges, but attacks seeking to shake that confidence must be dealt with firmly.

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