FACT CHECK: Claim that the Supreme Court changed its motto is FALSE

Hyderabad: Several social media posts with the claim that the Supreme Court of India's motto has been changed to' Yato Dharmastato Jai' are being shared virally. The post claims that the motto of 'Satyamev Jayate' has now been changed to 'Yato Dharmastato Jai'.

Sunil Astay, an ex-MLA, shared the pictures of the Indian emblem with the claim, "Satyamev Jayate's place... Yato Dharmastato Jai: It is done. Where is this country going ??? The Supreme Court has issued a list on August 17, in which names of 6 judges for the Delhi High Court has been released. But the big news here is that the words written under the Ashoka Pillar have been changed".

https:/twitter.com/SunilAstay/status/1296688915470880773

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Another claim reads," The Supreme Court has issued a list on August 17, in which names of 6 judges for the Delhi High Court has been released. But the big news here is that the word written under the Ashoka Pillar has changed. In place of 'Satyameva Jayate'... It is done. Where is this country going ??? Everyone should write and speak about this change. News should be made. big news. Ashok das".

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Fact check:

This claim is false.

NewsMeter did not find any source or document that pointed to the Supreme Court changing its motto from 'Satyamev Jayate' to 'Yato Dharmastato Jai'. The official website of the Supreme Court did not mention the change or state that its motto was 'Satyamev Jayate' at any point in time.

The Supreme Court's history section on its website was accessed and an article detailing its history was found. The section titled "Dharma Chakra logo of the Supreme Court", elaborates on the logo of the apex court. The article says that the logo features the Ashoka Chakra with the Sanskrit inscription 'Yato Dharmastato Jai' inscribed below it.

NewsMeter looked into the archives of the Supreme Court's website on the 'Way Back Machine' and found a saved version from July 22, 2019, from the site http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/,

which had the same motto 'Yato Dharmastato Jayah', thus proving no recent change was made.

The archives of the webpage of the Supreme Court's museum section were also accessed. The oldest archive is from February 6, 2006. The Supreme Court's emblem can be seen on the letterhead with 'Yato Dharmastato Jai' inscribed below it.

The Press Information Bureau also debunked this news and tweeted on it's official handle stating, "Claim: In the viral tweet, it is being claimed that the symbol of the Supreme Court has been changed from 'Satyamev Jayate' to 'Yato Dharmastato Jai:'. #PIBfactcheck: - This claim is fake, the mark of the Supreme Court has not changed. The motto of the Supreme Court has always been 'Yato Dharmastato Jai:'.

Therefore, the claim that the Supreme Court changed its motto recently is false.