Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
A purported exchange in a Delhi court, where chief minister Arvind Kejriwal sarcastically asks additional solicitor general Suryaprakash V Raju, appearing for ED, whether he would arrest Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah if Kejriwal merely stated he paid them ₹100 crore.
Kejriwal, arrested on March 21 for his alleged connection to the liquor policy case, was on March 28 produced before the Rouse Avenue Court on the expiry of his six days of ED custody. The court on Thursday extended the ED’s custody by four days till April 1.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact
Newschecker first ran a keyword search for such a courtroom exchange, which did not throw up any credible news reports or official records, raising our doubts.
A further search led us to these tweets by journalists Umang Poddar, from the BBC, and Thyagarajan Narendran, from Moneycontrol, dated March 28, 2024, who stated that the exchange never happened.
We also came across this tweet by Newslaundry journalist, Tanishka Sodhi, dated March 29, 2024, confirming that this never happened, while sharing a report on the hearing.
We reached out to other reporters and will update this copy once we receive a response.
Also Read: Old Video Of Disappointed RCB Fans Goes Viral After Team Loses To KKR
Result: False
Sources
Tweet, Tanishka Sodhi, March 29, 2024
Tweet, Umang Poddar, March 28, 2024
Tweet, Thyagarajan Narendran, March 28, 2024
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
