The Central government on Friday approached the Delhi High Court seeking urgent intervention against the circulation of alleged fake news claiming that members of the judiciary and the executive had jointly participated in a badminton tournament held in London.
The matter was mentioned before Justice Tejas Karia by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who sought urgent listing of the petition on the grounds that false and misleading information continued to circulate on social media platforms despite official fact-checking and clarification by the authorities.
The SG submitted that fabricated reports and online content were being circulated, suggesting that several judges and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal had participated in a badminton tournament in London. He contended that the information was demonstrably false and that its continued circulation was causing reputational harm to judicial institutions and undermining public confidence in the administration of justice.
The Centre informed the Court that although a fact-check had already been conducted and the claims had been officially denied, the misinformation continued to be disseminated through various digital platforms. It was submitted that the circulation of such content adversely affected the image and credibility of the judiciary.
Taking note of the submissions, Justice Karia agreed to list the matter for hearing on the same day, subject to the petitioner curing the procedural defects in the filing by 2:30 pm.
The controversy relates to reports circulated earlier this month by certain social media accounts and YouTube channels claiming that Meghwal had participated in a badminton tournament organised in London on June 7, along with approximately 75 judges.
The Ministry of Law and Justice subsequently issued a clarification categorically denying the allegations and describing the reports as fake news. The Ministry stated that the Union Law Minister was present in India on the date in question and had not attended any such event in London.
The Ministry further clarified that photographs accompanying the viral claims were not from any event held in London. According to the government, the images were old photographs from a badminton tournament organised in Delhi last year and had been circulated out of context to lend credibility to the false narrative.
The post London Badminton Tournament: Centre moves Delhi High Court against fake news involving judges, Law Minister appeared first on India Legal.