Prashant Bhushan, 63, who had refused to apologise for the tweets, was told to pay the fine by September 15. If he fails to do so he could be jailed for three months and barred from practising for three years.

Thousands of lawyers backed Mr Bhushan and argued that the court was being too harsh.

“Freedom of expression is there but rights of others should also be respected,” the court said when it imposed the fine on the public interest lawyer.

Mr Bhushan had accused judges of giving in to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He posted a photo of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sharad Arvind Bobde, posing with a motorcycle owned by the son of an official of the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party.

In a 108-page ruling issued last month, he was held guilty of criminal contempt and his refusal to apologise led to his sentence yesterday.