When a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court passed a verdict of Contempt of Court, on the tweets of the eminent lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan, they didn’t realise that what they had actually done was that they had delivered a judgement about themselves. All Prashant was doing was reminding these ‘honourable’ people of their duty and the duty of the great institution that they represented: which was to protect the Constitution from repeated political onslaughts, onslaughts on the autonomy of judges and, most impost importantly, to protect the rights of ordinary citizens who were being overwhelmed by an economic, social and health crises that were devastating their lives.

These three judges will also go down in history as guardians of the law who, instead of introspection and reflection, chose to prosecute a man who had held up a mirror to them.

All honourable men?

 

(The author is a renowned screenwriter, filmmaker and Director of Sambhaavna.)