A shocking Supreme Court verdict

The court declared Prashant Bhushan guilty of criminal contempt.  The crime carries a maximum prison sentence of six months and/or a fine of Rs 2000. Bhushan is a prominent lawyer and activist who has long fought key cases upholding constitutional rights.  

The crime: Bhushan shared two tweets. One shows a photo of the Chief Justice of India SA Bobde posing on a motorcycle, with the comment:

“CJI rides a 50 lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP leader at Raj Bhavan, Nagpur, without a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC in Lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental right to access Justice!” 

The other highlights the role of the Supreme Court in the destruction of democracy in India. See them here:

"When historians in future look back at the last 6 years to see how democracy has been destroyed in India even without a formal Emergency, they will particularly mark the role of the Supreme Court in this destruction, & more particularly the role of the last 4 CJIs."

The law: Bhushan was held guilty as per Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 which defines criminal contempt as the publication of anything that:

• scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of any court. 
• prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere with, the due course of any judicial proceedings.
• interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any other manner. 

The unsigned court ruling declares: “There is no matter of doubt, that the tweet tends to shake the public confidence in the institution of judiciary… the said tweet undermines the dignity and authority of the institution of the Supreme Court of India and the CJI and directly affronts the majesty of law.” 

The response: Opposition netas had their say, but the legal community was equally outraged. Worth your time: The Hindu spoke to former Justice Lodha and other senior advocates. Plus: This eviscerating response on the ‘Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy’ blog.

Twitter’s off the hook: because it hastily removed both tweets. This Twitter thread explains.

What’s next: The court will hear arguments on punishment on August 20. 

Trump’s brother has passed away

His younger brother Robert Trump died due to brain bleeds caused by a fall. Trump had long been estranged from his younger sibling—described as someone who shunned the spotlight and had “zero sense of entitlement.” Trump lied about that, as well. New York Times has more.

The global pandemic: A quick update

• Indonesia will not allow any tourists into the country until a vaccine has been found. Yup, no Bali vacays in the near future.
• The US has approved the emergency use of a rapid diagnostic test that uses saliva samples. It is highly sensitive and may be more accurate than nasal or throat swabs.
• The UAE and Saudi Arabia have agreed to conduct Phase III human trials for the highly suspect Russian vaccine. Bloomberg has more on the concerns over Sputnik V.
• In relevant and related news: Russia’s top doctor has resigned from the health ministry’s ethics council citing safety concerns: “He explicitly named and accused two leading medics, involved in the vaccine's development, of defying medical ethics in rushing the inoculation into production.”

The Indian pandemic: A quick update

• Government data shows us what we already know: states that have the virus under control are showing signs of recovery.
• India is very happy with its Case Fatality Rate—number of deaths divided by recorded cases—but WHO says the definition of CFR is unreliable and varies widely from one country to another. 
• Former batsman and UP sports minister Chetan Chauhan has died of Covid. 
• We all know that already cash-strapped domestic airlines are in the ICU thanks to the pandemic. As per this analysis, only IndiGo has the reserves to survive the long haul ahead. The good news: airlines are getting creative—flying more commercial cargo, and upping their long-haul capacity for repatriation flights.

An Independence Day roundup

August 15 wasn’t exactly the same thanks to the pandemic. But there were some good moments:

• PM Modi mentioned sanitary napkins in his Red Fort address—which is surely a historic first.
• Shashi Tharoor tweeted out these images contrasting how Indian and foreign publications covered the event 73 years ago.
• Worth clicking through: This portrait of Mother India by Goan artist Angelo da Fonseca.
• Last but not least: Rabindranath Tagore singing ‘Jana Gana Mana’.  Yes, India’s greatest poet can’t hold a tune.

A bisexual Disney character

The Disney Channel’s ‘Owl House’ series will feature a 14-year-old Dominican-American girl, Luz Noceda who is attracted to boys, and has a relationship with a girl. The series creator tweeted:

“When we were greenlit I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could not represent any form of bi or gay relationship on the channel... I’m bi! I want to write a bi character, dammit! Luckily my stubbornness paid off and now I am very supported by current Disney leadership.”

In less inspiring news: In town to shoot his ‘Forrest Gump’ remake—‘Lal Singh Chaddha’—Aamir Khan dropped in on President Reycip Erdogan’s wife, Emine. The reason: We’re not sure but he did tell her all about his do-good activities in India. Reminder: Erdogan’s record on human rights is a bit checkered. Click here to see a photo.

What’s missing in these pictures?

Here’s a ‘test your bias’ quiz to get your Monday off to a stellar start.

Exhibit A: A Netflix poster celebrating its excellent array of fictional cops.

Exhibit B: This India in Pixels infographic celebrating Indian freedom fighters. 

Feeling mad about monsoon chaos?

This is the departure lounge at the spanking new airport in Islamabad. Just sayin’.