Photo Does Not Show UP Judge Taking Selfie With Rahul Gandhi

A selfie of an advocate with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a Lucknow court has gone viral with claims misidentifying him as the judge who was hearing a defamation case against Gandhi.

BOOM found that the person in the photograph is advocate Syed Mahmood Hasan, and not Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma - who presided over Gandhi's hearing.

A Lucknow court granted bail to Rahul Gandhi on July 15 after he made an appearance in a defamation case filed over his purported remarks on Indian Army personnel. Gandhi attended the hearing after failing to appear on five earlier occasions and was granted bail by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Alok Verma on production of two sureties of ₹20,000 each.

The Claim

An X user shared the photo with the caption, "Indian judiciary’s fan moment… A judge taking a selfie with the defendant, Rahul Gandhi. Can one expect the judge to be unbiased?" Click here to view the post and here for an archive. The image was also shared by BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, who later deleted it after being called out.

Congress Amplifies Misinformation

Several Congress accounts shared the photograph with a similar false claim. The official handle of Chhattisgarh Youth Congress, shared the photo with the caption, "The judge is also a fan of Rahul Bhaiya... a selfie is a must (Lucknow Court)." Similar posts can be seen here, here and here.

What We Found:

1. Statement From UP Congress: We reached out to Uttar Pradesh Congress leader and advocate Pradeep Singh, who refuted the viral claim. He clarified that the person in the judicial attire is not a judge, but an advocate. Singh told BOOM, "The person who took the selfie with Rahul Gandhi is Syed Mahmood Hasan, an advocate. There was a large crowd of advocates in the court at the time as the additional chief judicial magistrate Alok Verma was hearing Gandhi's case." Congress leader Supriya Shrinate, also shared Malviya's X post and clarified that Gandhi was seen with a lawyer and not a judge.

2. Advocate Syed Mahmood Hasan Clarifies: BOOM spoke to advocate Syed Mahmood Hasan, who said that he practised at the Civil Court in Lucknow. Hasan told BOOM, "Rahul Gandhi's hearing was on when I came to court that day. I took the selfie and posted it on Facebook. Some people, out of ignorance, started referring to me as a judicial magistrate. I want to clarify that I am not a judicial magistrate." Hasan also clarified that he was not one of the legal counsels in Gandhi’s case. According to a report, Gandhi's counsel was Pranshu Agarwal and the complainant, former Border Roads Organisation (BRO) director Uday Shankar Srivastava's counsel, was Viki Tiwari.

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