Fact Check: Judge takes selfie with Rahul Gandhi in Lucknow court? No, here are the facts
An image has been circulating on social media, claiming it shows the judge hearing Rahul Gandhi’s case, clicking a selfie with him in the Lucknow courtroom.
By Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The image shows the judge hearing Rahul Gandhi’s case indulging in a fan moment by clicking a selfie with the Leader of Opposition.
Fact:The claim is false. The viral image shows advocate Syed Mahmood Hasan clicking a selfie with Rahul Gandhi and others in the courtroom.
Hyderabad: On July 15, a Lucknow court granted bail to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case linked to his remarks during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on December 16, 2022.
The case was filed by former BRO director Uday Shankar Srivastava, who alleged that Rahul’s comment about Chinese soldiers ‘beating up Indian Army personnel’ in Arunachal Pradesh defamed the Indian Army. The court released him on a personal bond with the next hearing for August 13.
In this context, an image from a courtroom has been circulating on social media, showing a man in a black coat taking a selfie, with Rahul Gandhi and others visible in the frame. It is being claimed that the judge hearing Rahul Gandhi’s case was indulging in a fan moment by clicking a selfie with the Leader of Opposition.
An X handle shared the image and wrote, “The Judge who is supposed to hear Rahul Gandhi’s Case is taking a selfie with him! Gems of the Judiciary. (sic)” (Archive)
Another X handle captioned the image, “Today, the judge in the Lucknow court was seen taking a selfie with Rahul Gandhi. (sic)” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the man in the back coat is a lawyer, not a judge hearing Rahul’s case.
We conducted a keyword search and found a thread of tweets posted by the legal news outlet Live Law on July 15, covering Rahul Gandhi’s court hearing in Lucknow. According to the posts, the case was heard by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma.
Taking this cue, we searched for Magistrate Alok Verma and found his details on the websites of the Allahabad High Court and the District and Sessions Court, Lucknow. According to these sources, Verma holds the designation of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in the Senior Division. The photo of Verma used by these websites does not match the man in the black coat in the viral image.
Who is the man in the black coat clicking a selfie?
We found a video report by UP Tak, posted on July 15, which clarified that the man seen taking the selfie is not a judge. He has been identified as advocate Syed Mahmood Hasan.
Speaking to News 24, Hasan clarified, “I was present in the court in connection with my own case when Rahul Gandhi arrived. Many people were taking selfies with him. One of my friends clicked a photo of me and later sent it to me, which I shared on Facebook. I am neither Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer nor a judge. I am a practising lawyer and was at the court for my own legal work.”
Therefore, we conclude that the viral image does not show the judge hearing Rahul Gandhi’s case indulging in a fan moment, taking a selfie with him. The claim is false.
