New Delhi: More than 3,000 people, including 12 former judges, have signed a statement extending solidarity and support to senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was recently found guilty of contempt of court by the Supreme Court for two tweets.The signatories said that the tweets were a bona fide expression of concern regarding the functioning of the Supreme Court, which they said is the fundamental right of every citizen. “The intention of that expression was to urge the apex court to restart physical hearings, particularly of matters of national importance. The intention was also to engage with the concerns articulated by many regarding the reluctance of the judiciary to play its constitutionally mandated role as a check on governmental excesses and violations of fundamental rights by the state,” they said.Such criticism, especially by a senior member of the bar, must be considered by the judiciary as an opportunity to introspect and strengthen the institution, the statement says.“To hold that such criticism shakes the foundations of the judiciary and needs to be dealt with an iron hand, appears to be a disproportionate response which could, in fact, diminish the reputation of the Court,” they added.They noted that former Chief Justice Bharucha said that the court should have broad shoulders to ignore such criticism even if it thinks it is unfair and unwarranted.“Every institution in a democracy has to earn the public’s affection and respect, and the hallmark of a strong institution is its openness to public scrutiny and commentary. The judgment will have a chilling effect on people expressing critical views on the functioning of the judiciary. Stifling of criticism by stakeholders does not bode well for any institution, especially the highest court in the country.” the statement concludes.The statement, along with the full list of signatories, has been reproduced below.§Statement relating to the judgment against Prashant Bhushan in the contempt of court matterAugust 17, 2020We, the undersigned citizens of the country, express anguish and disappointment at the verdict of the Hon’ble Supreme Court finding human rights activist and advocate, Prashant Bhushan, guilty of contempt of court in respect of two tweets. We reiterate our solidarity and support for Prashant Bhushan at this conviction, which we believe is not appropriate.The tweets were a bona fide expression of concern regarding the functioning of the Supreme Court, which is the fundamental right of every citizen. The intention of that expression was to urge the apex court to restart physical hearings, particularly of matters of national importance. The intention was also to engage with the concerns articulated by many regarding the reluctance of the judiciary to play its constitutionally mandated role as a check on governmental excesses and violations of fundamental rights by the state.Such criticism, however fiercely expressed, is in fact a plea to the system to engage with these public concerns. Bona fide criticism, especially by a senior member of the bar, must be taken in the spirit in which it is made – to introspect and thereby strengthen the institution of the judiciary. To hold that such criticism shakes the foundations of the judiciary and needs to be dealt with an iron hand, appears to be a disproportionate response which could, in fact, diminish the reputation of the Court . If a tweet by an individual is perceived by the judiciary as destroying public confidence in the institution, it speaks poorly of the judiciary’s confidence in itself. As former Chief Justice Bharucha has said, the court should have broad shoulders to ignore such criticism even if it thinks it is unfair and unwarranted. Further, the undue haste with which the matter has been dealt with via virtual hearing amid the pandemic is extremely concerning and has, in fact, been questioned by former Chief Justice Lodha.Every institution in a democracy has to earn the public’s affection and respect, and the hallmark of a strong institution is its openness to public scrutiny and commentary. The judgment will have a chilling effect on people expressing critical views on the functioning of the judiciary. Stifling of criticism by stakeholders does not bode well for any institution, especially the highest court in the country.Signed by more than 3000 people including:1. Justice Ruma Pal, former Judge, Supreme Court of India2. Justice B Sudershan Reddy, former Judge, Supreme Court of India3. Justice GS Singhvi, former Judge, Supreme Court of India4. Justice Aftab Alam, former Judge, Supreme Court of India5. Justice Madan B Lokur, former Judge, Supreme Court of India6. Justice Gopala Gowda, former Judge, Supreme Court of India7. Justice AP Shah, former Chief Justice, Delhi and Madras High Courts8. Justice NK Sodhi, former Chief Justice, Kerala and Karnataka High Courts9. Justice Anjana Prakash, former Judge, Patna High Court10. Justice Chandru, former Judge, Madras High Court11. Justice Kannan, former Judge, Punjab & Haryana High Court12. Justice V. S. Dave, former Judge, Rajasthan High Court13. A. Selvaraj, IRS (Retd.), Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI14. A.K. Samanta, IPS (Retd.), Former Director General of Police (Intelligence), Govt. of West Bengal15. Abhijit Sengupta IAS (retd), former Secretary Culture GOI16. Achin Vanaik, Retired Professor, New Delhi17. Admiral Ramdas, Former Chief of Naval Staff18. Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, (retd) former Chief of Naval Staff19. Ajit Ranade, Economist20. Alok Perti, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI21. Amit Bhaduri, former Professor Emeritus at Jawaharlal Nehru University22. Amitabh Behar, Wada Na Todo Abhiyan23. Amitabh Mathur, IPS (Retd.), Former Director, Aviation Research Centre and Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI24. Amitabha Pande, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI25. Anjali Bhardwaj, Social activist26. Anna Dani, IAS (Retd.), Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra27. Annie Namala, Social activist28. Annie Raja, NFIW29. Ardhendu Sen, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal30. Arif Ghauri, Former IRS and Governance Adviser, UK Govt31. Aruna Rodrigues, Agriculture Activist32. Aruna Roy, Social activist33. Arundhati Dhuru, NAPM34. Arundhati Roy, Author35. Ashok Khosla, environmentalist36. Ashok Kumar Sharma, IFoS (Retd.), Former MD, State Forest Development Corporation, Govt. of Gujarat37. Ashok Kumar Sharma, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia38. Ashok Vajpeyi, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Lalit Kala Akademi39. Avinash Mohananey, IPS (Retd.), Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Sikkim40. B. S. Ajeetha, Advocate, High Court of Madras41. Brijesh Kumar , IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Department of Information Technology, GoI42. Chandrashekhar Balakrishnan, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Coal, GoI43. Deb Mukharji , IFS (Retd.), Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and former Ambassador to Nepal44. Deepak Nayyar, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi45. Deepak Sanan, IAS (Retd.), Former Principal Adviser (AR) to Chief Minister, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh46. Devika Singh, Social Activist47. Dilip Simeon, Author & Historian48. Dipa Sinha, Right to Food Campaign49. Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, Former Chairman, Delhi Minorities Commission50. EAS Sarma, Former Secretary to GOI51. Elizabeth Seshadri, Advocate, Chennai52. Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ, human rights activist53. G. Balachandhran, IAS (Retd.), Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal54. G. Sankaran, IC&CES (Retd.), Former President, Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal55. G. Sundarrajan, Poovulagin Nanbargal56. Geetha Thoopal, IRAS (Retd.), Former General Manager, Metro Railway, Kolkata57. Githa Hariharan, Writer58. Gopalan Balagopal , IAS (Retd.), Former Special Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal59. Gourisankar Ghosh, IAS (Retd.), Former Mission Director, National Drinking Water Mission, GoI60. Harsh Mander, social activst61. Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director, People’s Watch and National Working Secretary, HumanRights Defenders’ Alert – India ( HRDA)62. Himanshu Thakkar, South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People63. Hindal Tyabji, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary rank, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir64. HS Gujral, IFoS, former Principal Chief Conservator Forests (Head of Forest Force), Punjab.65. Indira Jaising, senior advocate66. Jagdeep Chhokar, former Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad67. Javed Anand, Journalist and civil rights activist68. Jawhar Sircar, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI, & former CEO, Prasar Bharati69. Jayati Ghosh, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University70. Jean Dreze, Economist71. Julio Ribeiro, IPS (Retd.), Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & former Ambassador to Romania72. K. John Koshy, IAS (Retd.), Former State Chief Information Commissioner, West Bengal73. K. Saleem Ali, IPS (Retd.), Former Special Director, CBI, GoI74. K. Sujatha Rao, IAS (Retd.), Former Health Secretary, GoI75. K.P. Fabian, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Italy76. Kamal Jaswal, Former Secretary to Govt of India,77. Kamla Bhasin, Social Activist78. Kavita Krishnan, AIPWA79. Kavita Srivastava, PUCL80. Kavitha Kuruganti, social activist81. Keshav Desiraju, IAS (Retd.), Former Health Secretary, GoI82. Koninika Ray, NFIW83. Lalit Mathur, IAS (Retd.), Former Director General, National Institute of Rural Development, GoI84. Lalit Narula, Governing Council, Common Cause85. Lalita Ramdas, Peace, Human Rights anti-nuclear Activist86. Lenin Raghuvanshi, Founder, Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)87. M.G. Devasahayam, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana88. Madhu Bhaduri, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Portugal89. Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere (Retd.)90. Maja Daruwala, Senior Advisor, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative,91. Manoj Mitta, Author & Journalist92. Martin Macwan, Dalit human rights activist93. Medha Patkar, Social activist94. Meena Gupta, IAS (Retd.),Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI95. Meeran C Borwankar , IPS (Retd.), Former DGP, Bureau of Police Research & Development, GoI96. Mrinal Pande, Journalist and author97. N H Seervai, senior advocate98. N. Ram, former Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu99. N.C. Saxena, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI100. N.K. Raghupathy, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI101. Nagalsamy, IAAS (retd.), Former Principal Accountant General of TN and Kerala102. Najeeb Jung, IAS (Retd.), Former Lieutenant Governor, Delhi103. Nandini Sundar, professor of Sociology, DSE104. Narendra Sisodia, Retd. Secretary to GOI105. Navrekha Sharma, IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Indonesia106. Navsharan Singh, feminist researcher107. Nikhil Dey, Social activist108. Niranjan Pant, IA&AS (Retd.), Former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General, GoI109. P. S. S. Thomas, IAS (Rtd), Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission of India110. P. Sainath, Journalist and author111. P.K. Lahiri, IAS (Retd.), Former Executive Director, Asian Development Bank112. P.R. Dasgupta, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Food Corporation of India, GoI113. Pamela Philipose, journalist, New Delhi114. Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Author & journalist115. Paul Divakar, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights116. Prabhat Patnaik, Emeritus professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University117. Prakash Singh, former Police Chief, DG BSF,DGP UP & DGP Assam118. Pranab S. Mukhopadhyay, IAS (Retd.), Former Director, Institute of Port Management, GoI119. R. Poornalingam, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI120. R.M. Premkumar, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra121. Rachel Chatterjee, Special Chief Secretary (Retd) Andhra Pradesh122. Rahul Khullar, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India123. Rajeev Bhargava, Professor, CSDS, Delhi124. Rajmohan Gandhi, Historian and Professor125. Ravi Chopra, People’s Science Institute126. Ravi Nair, SAHRDC127. Ravikiran Jain, Sr. Advocate and National President, PUCL.128. Reetika Khera, economist129. Romar Correa, Reserve Bank of India Professor of Economics, University of Mumbai130. Romila Thapar, Historian131. S. P. Udayakumaran, Pachai Tamizhagam Katchi, People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy132. S.K. Guha, IAS (Retd.), Former Joint Secretary, Department of WCD, GoI133. S.P. Ambrose, IAS (Retd.), Former Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Shipping & Transport, GoI134. Samar Bagchi, NAPM, West Bengal135. Sandeep Pandey, Socialist Party (India)136. Sanjay Bhasin137. Sanjay Joshi, National Convenor, Cinema of Resistance138. Sanjay Kak, Filmmaker139. Satish Deshpande, Professor of Sociology, Delhi University140. Satyavir Singh, IRS (Retd.), Former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, GoI141. Sevanti Ninan, Journalist and researcher142. Shafi Alam, IPS (Retd.), Former Director General, National Crime Records Bureau, GoI143. Shantha Sinha, Former Chairperson NCPCR144. Sharad Behar, IAS (Retd.), Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh145. Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, IFS (Retd.), Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom146. Siraj Hussain, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Department of Agriculture, GoI147. Subodh Lal, IPoS (Resigned), Former Dy. Director General, Ministry of Communications, GoI148. Sundar Burra, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra149. Suresh K. Goel, IFS (Retd.), Former Director General, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, GoI150. Sushil Dubey , IFS (Retd.), Former Ambassador to Sweden151. Syeda Hameed, Former member, Planning Commission152. T. M. Krishna, Carnatic vocalist, writer, activist and author153. Tapan Kumar Bose, Human Rights activist154. Teesta Setalvad, Civil rights activist155. V. Suresh, Advocate, National General Secretary, PUCL.156. V.P. Raja, IAS (Retd.), Former Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission157. V.S. Ailawadi, IAS (Retd.), Former Vice Chairman, Delhi Development Authority158. Vandana Shiva, Scientist, RFSTE159. Vappala Balachandran , IPS (Retd.), Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI160. Vibha Puri Das, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, GoI161. Vijaya Latha Reddy, IFS (Retd.), Former Deputy National Security Adviser, GoI162. Vikram Lal163. Vipul Mudgal, Activist and media scholar164. Wajahat Habibullah, Former Chief Information Commissioner of CIC165. Yogendra Yadav, Swaraj India166. Yug Mohit Chaudhary, criminal lawyerList of signatories continued here.
