Editor's Pick: Court and Bhushan stick to their guns

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

The tussle over what is valid criticism and what is punishable contempt extended even into the sentencing hearing in the Prashant Bhushan case yesterday. The senior advocate, convicted of contempt over his tweets on corruption in the higher judiciary, read out a statement in court in which he refused to apologise for his words, and said that a failure to speak would have been a dereliction of duty on his part. The court in response, gave him "two or three days" to "reflect on" the statement and reserved its order.

This is more than just courtroom drama. The court had said that "allowing Mr. Bhushan’s remarks to go unpunished would lower the country’s image in the comity of nations". But linked to this case is also what The Hindu mentioned in the Editorial on August 17: "...a growing perception of judicial evasion, self-imposed reticence and quiet acquiescence in the face of executive power." It is also to be noted that the Attorney-General of India K.K. Venugopal stepped in yesterday in the capacity of his constitutional office, arguing that Mr. Bhushan should not be punished.

The dramatic courtroom developments and the political backdrop of this case earned it prime space on the front page of the newspaper.