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  • 2022-07-11 (xsd:date)
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  • Photo of former Indian chief justice shared in false posts about India blasphemy row (en)
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  • After a judge from India's top court slammed a ruling party official for making controversial comments about the Prophet Mohammed that sparked nationwide protests, a photo circulated in Facebook posts that claim it shows the same judge greeting the president of the main opposition party. But the photo -- shared hundreds of times -- actually shows a former chief justice who was not involved in the row. The photo was shared in a Hindi-language post on July 2 that claims it shows Indian Supreme Court Justice J B Pardiwala reaching out to shake hands with Sonia Gandhi , president of the Indian National Congress party. Pardiwala was one of two judges who slammed Nupur Sharma, a spokeswoman for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for making controversial remarks about the Prophet Mohammed. The row sparked outrage across the Muslim world and prompted huge protests in India. The post -- shared by an account with more than 58,000 followers -- translates to English as: Here is Justice J B Pardiwala who blamed Nupur Sharma for the knife that [Mohammed] Riyaz used to slit someone's throat. Mohammed Riyaz is one of two Muslim men accused of murdering a Hindu tailor who expressed support for Sharma. Screenshot of the false post taken on July 4, 2022. The photo was shared alongside a similar claim here and here on Facebook; and here and here on Twitter. However, the photo does not show Pardiwala with Gandhi. Former chief justice Reverse image and keyword searches found the photo was previously shared in a tweet on March 17, 2020, which states the man is India's former chief justice K G Balakrishnan. Further keyword searches found a similar photo published on November 18, 2019 by Getty Images photo agency, which also identifies the man as K G Balakrishnan. According to Getty Images, the image shows Gandhi and various officials congratulating Balakrishnan after he was sworn in as chief justice at a ceremony in Delhi on January 14, 2007. It is credited to Sanjeev Verma from the Hindustan Times. It shows Balakrishnan and Gandhi against a similar background and wearing the same clothing as seen in the photo falsely identifying the man as J B Pardiwala. Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in a false post (left) and the Hindustan Times photo (right), with similarities highlighted by AFP: Screenshot comparison of the image in a false post (L) and Getty Images's photo (R), with similarities marked out by AFP Verma told AFP the man seen greeting Gandhi in the photo was Balakrishnan, not Pardiwala. Balakrishnan was appointed on January 14, 2007 and retired on May 12, 2010, according to India's National Legal Services Authority's website . Congress party claim The post also claims that Pardiwala was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Congress party in the 1980s and a speaker in the Seventh Legislative Assembly of western Gujarat state. Think why the credibility of India's judiciary is suffocating, the post states. Although the Supreme Court's website states Pardiwala's father was a Congress party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and speaker for the Seventh Legislative Assembly of Gujarat , AFP found no official records or reports indicating Pardiwala himself held these positions. The row following Sharma's comments has sparked a wave of misinformation . (en)
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