CJI Chandrachud hasn’t asked people to protest against govt; fake quote viral – Alt News

An apparent appeal by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud in the form of an infographic is viral on social media and WhatsApp. It has the CJI’s photo and the following words: “We are trying our best to save the constitution of India, democracy of India, but your cooperation is also very important for this, all the people should unite and come out on the streets and ask the government about their rights, this dictatorial government. Will scare people, threaten but you don’t have to be afraid, keep courage and ask the government to account, I am with you.” The whole image has a header, which says “Indian democracy Supreme Court Zindabad”.

Olympic medalist and politician Vijender Singh shared the Hindi version of the same on hiss official page on Facebook.

Alt News has received multiple requests on its WhatsApp helpline to verify the authenticity of the quote.

Fact Check

First, we looked for news reports on the CJI’s public appeal. We found none. In stead, we found that several media outlets had actually reported that the viral quote was fake. Among them are Hindustan Times, The Wire, The Times of India.

The public relations office of the Supreme Court issued a a press note on August 14 refuting thee viral quote, which can be found here. It states that “The post is fake, ill-intended and mischievous. No such post has been issued by the Chief Justice of India nor has he authorised any such post. Appropriate action is being taken in this regard with the law enforcement authorities.”

We can thus conclude that the viral quote in the name of CJI DY Chandrachud appealing to people for hitting the streets protesting against the government is fake.

Shreyatama Datta is an intern at Alt News.

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