The Supreme Court has asked Prashant Bhushan, who was held guilty for his tweets against the judiciary, to pay a fine of Rupee 1 by September 15 as punishment in contempt case.

In case Prashant Bhushan fails to deposit the fine of Re 1, the activist-lawyer will have to undergo sentence for three months and will be debarred from practice for three years, the Supreme Court said on Monday as it pronounced its verdict on the quantum of sentence.

Prashant Bhushan was convicted by the SC earlier this month for contempt of court over his two tweets against the judiciary.

Prashant Bhushan, photographed holding up a Re 1 coin, told reporters he would reveal later today whether he would pay the fine or confront the other options.

"My lawyer & senior colleague Rajiv Dhavan contributed 1 Re immediately after the contempt judgement today which I gratefully accepted," the 63-year-old tweeted.

My lawyer & senior colleague Rajiv Dhavan contributed 1 Re immediately after the contempt judgement today which I gratefully accepted pic.twitter.com/vVXmzPe4ss

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) August 31, 2020

The Supreme Court, which had asked for an unconditional apology from the lawyer, noted, "We gave several opportunities and encouragement to (Prashant Bhushan) to express regret. He not only gave wide publicity to the second statement but also gave various interviews to press."

The court was apparently referring to Prashant Bhushan's statement refusing to retract his comments or apologise, saying he considered it the discharge of his "highest duty" and apologising would be contempt of his conscience and the court. Mr Bhushan also said in the statement that open criticism was necessary to "safeguard the democracy and its values."

In the last hearing, Attorney General KK Venugopal had suggested that Mr Bhushan be let off with a warning. "Bhushan's tweets seek the improvement of the administration of justice... Let democracy follow in this case when he has exercised his free speech... It will be tremendously appreciated if the court leaves it at that," he had said.