By Anmol Alphonso
A cropped video of a five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud hearing arguments being made by the Solicitor General (SG) of India Tushar Mehta in the electoral bond case is viral with the false claim that the judges walked out from the hearing midway, without hearing the arguments being made.
The Supreme Court on March 18pulled up the State Bank of India for its selective disclosure of all information related to Electoral Bonds, which were recently struck down by the courts as unconstitutional. The bench further directed the country's largest national bank to furnish all 'conceivable' details by March 21. The SC further clarified that only information post April 2019 will need to be disclosed.
In the viral video of the live court proceedings, Mehta representing the Centre, submitted that there was a narrative being built outside courts. "Now my Lords, I have something to share. I've been watching this very painfully outside the court. Your Lordships sit in kind of silos. The Lordships are in an ivory tower, not in a negative sense of a term, but what we know here, your Lordships never come to know. The way in which your Lordships judgement (striking down the electoral bonds as unconstitutional) is playing out," Mehta said. He further added, "Statistics can be twisted in any manner the person wants, it's a matter of intelligence of the reader to understand, now based on the twisted statistics, any kind of posts are being made, would your Lordships consider issuing a direction which has necessary inevitable fallout which the court would not be able to control," he added.
At this point, CJI Chandrachud interrupted Mehta and said, "...Solicitor, we are only concerned about enforcing the directions which we issued, as judges we decide according to the constitution. We are (also) a subject matter of social media and the press, but as an institution, our shoulders are broad...our court has an institutional role to play...".
In response to that Mehta argues, "My purpose is to inform your Lordships that there is something else playing out which neither your Lordships intended or your scheme intended, we thought this information would help the voter to take a call whether to vote in favour of a particular party or not. My lord this started..."
Then CJI DY Chandrachud is seen adjusting his chair and saying alright, and the video abruptly ends. Viral posts have shared this video claiming the CJI walked out mid hearing.
X handle Jayesh Mehta (@JMehta65) shared the video claiming, "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, forced to resign by the President of India. Totally mannerless and ARTOGANT this man Chandrachud is.. He and other judges are taking vengeance against the Govt of India..I will be shortly post a thread listing reasons, behind this attitude of judges.."
Click here to view, and here for an archive
The same video was also posted by Right-wing YouTuber Ajeet Bharti (@ajeetbharti) - who has since deleted the post, with the caption when translated reads, "Wow! The lawyer continued speaking and Chandrachud got up and left without saying anything. This video shows how high and obscene is the arrogance of judges having family talent and proper DNA sequence in the judiciary. This is the Supreme Court. Supreme Court!"
(In Hindi -Wow! अधिवक्ता बोलते रहे और चंद्रचूड़ उठ कर निकल गया, बिना कुछ बताए! यह वीडियो बताता है कि न्यायपालिका में पारिवारिक प्रतिभा और उचित डीएनए सीक्वेंस-धारी जजों का घमंड कितना ऊँचा और अभद्र होता है। ये सुप्रीम कोर्ट है। सुप्रीम कोर्ट!
Click here to view an archive.
FACT-CHECK
BOOMfound that viral video has been cropped and in the original live stream, CJI Chandrachud is seen adjusting his chair and then continuing to hear SG Tushar Mehta's arguments.The part after he adjusts his chair has been cropped out to make the false claim.
On watching the live-stream of the Supreme Court, from 23.04 minutes we can see Mehta making his arguments that can be heard in the viral video.
After the part where the viral video ends, in the original live stream, CJI Chandrachud is adjusting his chair and talking to another judge. He then continues to hear Mehta's argument and then goes on to also hear arguments made by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for industry associations. After these arguments, the hearing concluded with the court dictating the order where it directed SBI to disclose ‘alpha-numeric details’ by March 21, 2024.
The part where Mehta resumes his arguments after CJI Chandrachud adjusts his chair has been removed from the viral video. This can be seen from the 27.05 minutes timestamp.
