The contempt case that was filed against the advocate Prashant Bhushan and the founder of the Tehelka magazine Tarun Tejpal for an interview that said 8 out of 16 CJIs have been corrupt has been closed by the Supreme Court of India today.
The decision was taken by the Supreme Court on Tuesday in view of the apology/ explanation that was tendered by Bhushan and Tejpal to the Court
A Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee, Justice Surya Kant and Justice MM Sundresh took the same on record before closing the case.
The Court said that “In view of the apologies made by the contemnors, we don’t deem it necessary to continue the matter.”
Kapil Sibal, who appeared for Prashant Bushan said to the court that “My only submission is in light of the apology made, is pursuing this necessary? (It will be) entering muddied waters.
The Court duly accepted the same before proceeding to close the matter.
It was way back in the year 2009, when Prashant Bhushan had given an interview in the leading magazine Tehelka which said alleged that out of 16 chief Justices of India, half have been corrupt.
This was a blatant comment and a contempt case was initiated against the interviewer who published it and Advocate Prashant Bushan who said the same.
After the matter flamed, Prashant Bhushan’s father, who is a seasoned lawyer and Senior Counsel Shanti Bhushan submitted details of the corrupt CJIs in a sealed envelope to the Supreme Court.
The case which began in the year 2009 went into cold storage by 2012. It was in 2020 that it got revived again when Justice Arun Mishra led bench decided to hear the matter to sum up for conclusion. Alas, this could not materialize as the justice retired before the matter could be heard.
With the new CJI UU Lalit, this matter saw the light of the day and was heard, and closed.