A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the visuals of Sundaresh Menon, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Singapore, making comments on how the constitution of India was being hijacked by a few theocratic judges to turn India into a Hindu Rashtra. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Chief Justice of Singapore Sundaresh Menon’s remarks on theocratic judges in the Indian Judiciary.
Fact: The man expressing concerns over theocratic judges in the video is Professor Dr. G. Mohan Gopal, a Constitutional Law Expert, a well-known legal academician and the former Director of the National Judicial Academy. Mohan Gopal while addressing a seminar organised by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), raised concerns over the appointment of judges with political bias and highlighted the motive of hijacking the judiciary and establishing a Hindu theocracy in the country. The video has nothing to do with Singapore Supreme Court Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
A watermark of ‘Live Law’ can be seen in the top-right corner of the video. When we searched for this video using relevant keywords on the internet, a video with similar visuals was found published on the Live Law YouTube channel on 21 February 2023. Live Law published the video with a description, “Theocratic Judges Who Find Source Of Law In Religion Than Constitution Increased: Dr Mohan Gopal”.
Professor Dr. G. Mohan Gopal is a renowned legal academician and the Former Director of the National Judicial Academy. While addressing a seminar organised by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), G. Mohan Gopal raised concerns over the appointment of judges with political bias and highlighted the motive of hijacking the judiciary and establishing a Hindu theocracy in the country. Live Law published an article reporting the complete speech of Dr. G. Mohan Gopal at the CJAR seminar.
On 03 February 2023, Chief Justice of Singapore Sundaresh Menon watched the proceedings of the Supreme Court alongside the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. Sundaresh Menon was the chief guest at the event to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Court on 03 February 2023. Sundaresh Menon did not make any such comments as mentioned in the post on Indian Judiciary and about the appointment of judges in the country.
To sum it up, a video of renowned legal academician G. Mohan Gopal is shared as Chief Justice of Singapore Sundaresh Menon’s remarks on theocratic judges in the Indian Judiciary.
