The Indian Supreme Court building pictured in New Delhi on July 10, 2018. (AFP / Sajjad Hussain)

Misinformation circulates after Indian Supreme Court dismisses plea to rename the nation

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on June 19, 2020 at 04:00
  • 1 min read
  • By AFP India

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Multiple posts shared repeatedly on Facebook and Twitter in June 2020 claim the Supreme Court of India has ruled in favour of renaming the country "Bharat" in all languages from June 15. "Bharat" is the Hindi name for the nation. The claim is false; the Supreme Court heard a petition for renaming the country but did not issue a judgement and dismissed the request.

The claim was published on Facebook here on June 3, 2020.

(Screeshot of the misleading Facebook post taken on June 16, 2020)

The Hindi language text translates to English as: “From 15 June onwards, India will be renamed as Bharat in all the languages as per Supreme Court. Congratulations to all countrymen.”

A similar claim was also shared on Facebook here and here; and on Twitter here and here.

The claim is false. 

On June 3, 2020, India’s Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking to amendment Article 1 of the Constitution of India and replace "India" with the word "Bharat".

Instead of issuing a judgement, the court determined the matter should be decided upon by the central government. 

“The present petition is directed to be treated as a representation and may be considered by the appropriate Ministries. The writ petition is disposed of accordingly,” the court determined.

The court’s dismissal was widely reported by national news outlets; for example here by the Hindustan Times and here by The Hindu.
 

 

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