The Supreme
Court on Tuesday reserved its judgement in the criminal contempt case against lawyer-activist
Prashant Bhushan,  reported ANI.

Earlier
today, the apex court gave 30 minutes for Bhushan to reconsider his stance of not
retracting his statement and his refusal to apologise over his tweets against Chief
Justice SA Bobde, according to a PTI report.

Attorney
General KK Venugopal urged Bhushan to withdraw all his statements and express
regret after the bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra sought his views on the
matter. He further stated that the court should warn him and take a
compassionate view.

Bhushan
refused to offer an apology for his two tweets, saying they represented beliefs
which he continued to hold.

“Bhushan
says the Supreme Court has collapsed, is it not objectionable,” the bench
asked.

Also Read: ‘Defer sentence… heavens won’t fall’, says Prashant Bhushan; top court gives him 2 days time

The bench, which also consisted of Justices B R Gavai and Krishna Murari, said Bhushan had made disparaging remarks against the judiciary even in his affidavit, adding that there
was no point in giving advice to a person who does not think he did anything
wrong.

 “A person should be realise mistake, we gave
Bhushan time but he says he will not apologize,” it said.

On August
20, the top court had granted time till August 24 for Bhushan to reconsider his
“defiant statement” refusing to apologise and tender “unconditional apology”
for contemptuous tweets.

In its
108-page verdict, the top court said, “The tweets which are based on the distorted
facts, in our considered view, amount to committing criminal contempt.”

Also Read: Held guilty of contempt, Prashant Bhushan seeks deferment of sentence hearing

Bhushan was
held guilty of criminal contempt on August 14 for two derogatory tweets against
the judiciary, saying they cannot be said to be a fair criticism of the
functioning of the judiciary made in the public interest.

He faces
imprisonment of up to six months or with a fine of up to Rs 2,000 or with both
as punishment.