In the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s verdict which declared electoral bonds unconstitutional, several social media users have claimed that during a hearing related to the matter, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud got up and left the court in the middle of the proceedings while solicitor general of India (SG) Tushar Mehta was making his arguments in front of the five-judge Bench led by the CJI.
Right-Wing influencer Ajeet Bharti tweeted a video of the alleged incident. At the end of the video, CJI Chandrachud seems to be getting up from his seat. Bharti said, “Wow! The lawyer kept speaking, and Chandrachud got up and left without saying anything! This video shows how arrogant and disrespectful the judiciary can be with its familial talent and appropriate DNA sequence-bearing judges. This is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court!” He later deleted the tweet. (Archive)
The readers should note that Alt News has found Ajeet Bharti sharing misinformation several times in the past.
User @AmitLeliSlayer also tweeted the same video with the same claim. (Archive)
Bhaag gaya Pencho 😂😂😂😂 Miyalord 🤭🤭🤭🤭 pic.twitter.com/rUHKnEb1ah
— Boiled Anda 🥚🇮🇳(Modi’s Family) (@AmitLeliSlayer) March 18, 2024
Verified user Jayesh Mehta quote-tweeted the viral video and called it a gross humiliation and insult to the Government of India. The user also suggested that all the judges including CJI Chandrachud should be “hauled up and forced to resign by the President of India”. (Archive)
How can the #CJI behave in this manner?
SG is presenting his arguments before him and without adjourning, he and other judges simply walked away..
This is gross humiliation and insult to the Govt of India..
All the judges including the CJI Chandrachud, should be hauled up and,… https://t.co/vS1n74sFSX— Jayesh Mehta (@JMehta65) March 18, 2024
Several other users amplified the viral claim. (Archives- 1, 2, 3, 4)
Fact Check
The full-length live stream of the hearing is available on the YouTube channel of the Supreme Court of India. This is a live streaming of Supreme Court proceedings on March 18. We located the viral bit at approximately 27:06 of the YouTube livestream. CJI Chandrachud can be seen getting up to readjust himself in the chair and the hearing continues.
Around this time, SG Mehta is heard discussing the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding disclosing the details of electoral bonds. “My purpose is to inform your Lordships that there is something else playing which neither your Lordships intended, not the scheme intended… On 11th of March, we thought that this information would help the voters to take a call whether to vote for a particular party or not..” At this point, CJI Chandrachud says, “Okay, we’ll… [inaudible] the order.” Then he repositions himself in his chair and tries to dictate the order, but gets interrupted by other lawyers.
Hence, it is clear that several Right Wing users tried to mislead their followers by claiming that Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud walked out in the middle of the hearing when solicitor general Tushar Mehta was making his arguments. Alt News found that the CJI had got up to reposition himself in the chair and the hearing continued. The viral video has been clipped in a way that it suggests the CJI got up from his chair.
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