New Delhi, August 5: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved the verdict in the contempt of court case against senior advocate-cum-activist Prashant Bhushan. During the final phase of arguments, lawyer Dushyant Dave who was representing Bhushan in the courtroom said the judges should not claim to be "infallible".

Bhushan, along with Twitter India, was issued a notice for contempt of court last month for two of his tweets which purportedly targeted the Chief Justice of India and the apex judiciary. The court observed that the lawyer could not bring disrepute to the institution of Supreme Court through his remarks on social media. Prashant Bhushan and Twitter India Face Contempt Proceedings, Supreme Court Takes Suo Moto Action.

Bhushan submitted a 142-page affidavit before the SC last week, expressing no remorse over any of his tweets that were critical for the judiciary except for a jibe which he took at CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde on an image of him riding an Harley Davidson bike.

The embattled lawyer, who had drawn fame during the Coal block allocation scandal case in UPA years, said his remarks against the judiciary were aimed encouraging the institution to effectively discharge its duty.

Bhushan further added that if action is taken upon him, it will infringe upon the right to liberty and right to life a guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The Hindu editor N Ram and former Union Minister Arun Shourie became co-petitioners in the case.

Dave, while concluding his set of arguments in the courtroom, said criticism strengthens an institution and it should not be discouraged in a democracy. "Nobody can claim to be infallible, including the Judges," said the advocate who also heads the Bombay High Court Bar Association.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 05, 2020 05:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).