SC allows contempt plea by Salve Prashant Bhushan faces contempt calls for impeachment of Justice Dinakaran

Prashant Bhushan, in an interview with the weekly Tehelka, had made certain statements regarding Supreme Court Justice Kapadia’s interest in a matter relating to Sterlite Industries allegedly implying judicial impropriety. Salve, who acted as amicus curiae on the matter, felt that such careless comments by a member of the Bar was “regrettable”, and requested permission to file a petition for contempt against Bhushan. Salve has stated that he will refrain from filing the petition if Prashant Bhushan offers a sincere apology for misrepresenting the facts to the media..However, Prashant Bushan continued his campaign for judicial accountability by calling for the impeachment of Justice Dinakaran. He claims that there is documentary evidence of Dinakaran’s disproportionate wealth and land holdings, and evidence of misuse of judicial office..The Supreme Court on Friday allowed a plea by Senior Counsel Harish Salve (pictured, right) to initiate contempt proceedings against noted civil liberties lawyer, Prashant Bhushan (pictured, left). In an interview with the weekly Tehelka, he had made certain statements regarding Supreme Court Justice Kapadia’s interest in a matter relating to Sterlite Industries, allegedly implying judicial impropriety in Justice Kapadia’s behavior. Salve, who acted as amicus curiae on the matter, felt that such careless comments by a member of the Bar was “regrettable”, and requested permission to file a petition for contempt against Bhushan..Prashant Bhushan has been one of the strongest voices in the movement for judicial accountability, and is spearheading the campaign for public declaration of Judges’ assets. In the interview, he had stated that Justice Kapadia heard a matter involving Vedanta Sterlite, despite owning shares in the company. However, the matter was subsequently clarified in a letter to the magazine by Senior Counsel U.U. Lalit, one of the counsels in the case, who made it plain that Justice Kapadia had made a full disclosure before starting proceedings on the matter, and asked if any of the parties had an objection to his adjudicating on the matter. When none of the parties raised an objection, Justice Kapadia continued to preside over the proceedings..Salve has stated that he will refrain from filing the petition if Prashant Bhushan offers a sincere apology for misrepresenting the facts to the media..Prashant Bhushan, undaunted, continued his campaign for judicial accountability by calling for the impeachment of Justice Dinakaran. Speaking at a seminar on ‘Appointment and retirement of Judges’ organised by the Karnataka Forum for Judicial Accountability, (KFJA), he stated that the committee appointed by the CJI to probe into the allegations against Justice Dinakaran was against the Judges Inquiry Act and would not be able to achieve its end. He claimed that there was documentary evidence of Dinakaran’s disproportionate wealth and land holdings, and evidence of misuse of judicial office, and added, “The only option left is impeaching him by getting sufficient signatures from the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.”