2011 Video Of Prashant Bhushan Being Beaten Revived After Contempt Case

A nearly nine-year-old video showing Supreme Court lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan being attacked in his chambers, has been revived and is being shared as recent on social media after India's apex court held him guilty of contempt.

The 29 seconds clip from a Times Now report shows Bhushan being slapped and punched repeatedly by a man as the news presenter is heard saying that Bhushan was assaulted by members of the Shree Ram Sena.  

BOOM found that the clip is from October 12, 2011. We had previously debunked the same clip in February 2019, when it was being falsely shared on social media as recent after the Pulwama terror attack.

The Supreme Court on August 25, 2020, reserved its verdict on sentencing Bhushan who was held guilty of contempt for his July 2020 tweets that the court called "false, malicious and scandalous".

Also Read: Supreme Court To Prashant Bhushan: What Is Wrong In Apologising?

Columnist and novelist Shobhaa De tweeted the viral clip saying, "Shocking, Disgraceful", and used the hashtag 'Prashant Bhushan case'.

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BOOM has previously fact-checked misinformation tweeted by De.

Viral on social media

The same clip is being shared on Twitter and Facebook falsely claiming that it is recent after the judgement.

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(Translation: The barbarism of fascist fanatics. Today for Prashant Bhushan, tomorrow we ...Do we need this rule ???)

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Also Read: The Supreme Court's Logo Never Had 'Satyamev Jayate' Inscribed On It

FACT-CHECK

We found that the viral clip is from October 12, 2011, when three people had entered Bhushan's chambers, opposite the Supreme Court, and beat him up while he was being interviewed by Times Now.

Also Read: Old Video Of Prashant Bhushan Being Beaten Revived After Pulwama Attack

Senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan was beaten up in his chamber on Wednesday afternoon allegedly for his comments on Kashmir reported The Times Of India on October 12, 2011.

While one of the attackers was arrested, the other two had fled the spot. The arrested assailant later identified Tajinderpal Singh Bagga as another attacker. Bagga is the spokesperson of Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janta Party.

The arrested assailant had later said that the reason for the attack was Bhushan's statement on Jammu & Kashmir, reportedly supporting the demand of withdrawing security forces from the valley and conducting a referendum. They claimed to hold allegiance to Shri Ram Sena and Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena.

In the viral clip, at the 20 seconds timestamp, one can hear the assulter say, "Kashmir dega" (You'll give Kashmir), and at 52 seconds timestamp saying, "Kashmir tum dega" (You will give Kashmir), as he is dragged away.

One can view the same clip uploaded on October 12, 2011, on YouTube, from the Times Now broadcast.

Also Read: Viral Image Of Indian Tricolour At Kashmir's Lal Chowk Is Photoshopped