New Delhi, May 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court has strongly condemned the circulation of fabricated social media posts falsely attributing remarks to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, terming the act as “malicious”, “mischievous”, and an attack on public trust in the judiciary.

In a press statement, the Office of the CJI said that certain posts currently being circulated on social media platforms had falsely attributed statements to the CJI.

“Specifically, the account @UnreservedMERIT on X (formerly Twitter) has circulated a fabricated graphic falsely attributing” a statement to the CJI, the release said.

The falsely attributed quote, in Hindi, read: “Agar ek samaj khud ko IAS, IPS, CJI, President, PM bankar bhi khud ko shoshit hi rakhna chata hai, to isme ghalti Brahmino ki nahi balki uski apni mansikta ki hai (If a society, even after producing IAS, IPS, CJI, President, and PM from its ranks, still chooses to remain exploited, then the fault lies not with the Brahmins but with its own mentality).”

The Office of the CJI clarified that the attributed remarks were “wholly baseless, malicious, and demonstrably false”.

“The Office of Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India condemns in the strongest possible terms this vile, brazen, and mischievous concoction,” the press release said.

“To manufacture a fictitious quote, and to attribute it to the highest judicial office of the land is an act of rank dishonesty, deliberate social incitement, and contempt for constitutional values,” it added.

The statement further said that such conduct undermines public confidence in the justice delivery system.

“Such reckless conduct strikes at the very foundation of public trust in the judiciary and the rule of law,” the Office of the CJI said.

Calling for restraint, the Office of the CJI urged citizens, media organisations and social media platforms not to amplify unverified and misleading content. “The Office of Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India calls upon all responsible citizens, media organisations, and social media platforms to refrain from amplifying false and contrived content,” the release added.

–IANS

pds/vd