Old Video of Judge Reprimanding Police Falsely Linked to Sharmishta Panoli Case

The video dates back to November 2022 and shows proceedings from Patna High Court.

A video of a judge reprimanding police personnel for putting someone in handcuffs is being circulated on social media platforms with users linking it to Sharmishta Panoli's case.

What have users said?: Those sharing the clip have uploaded it with a caption that loosely translated to, "If this is the same judge who granted bail to Sharmishta, then many thanks to him for properly handling the Kolkata Police."

The above post had gained over two lakh views on the platform. More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.

What is the truth?: The claim is misleading as the viral clip dates back to November 2022. We identified the judge in the video as Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, who currently serves in the Patna High Court.

How did we find that out?: On performing a Google Lens search on the viral clip, we came across the 'Hon'ble Judges' section on the official website of Patna High Court.

• We identified the judge seen in the viral clip as Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, who joined the Patna High Court in May 2017.

• This indicated that the clip was from Patna and unrelated to West Bengal.

Finding an older version: We performed a keyword search on YouTube and found an older and longer version of the viral clip shared on verified channel named 'Judgement Law commonsense'.

• It was posted on 7 February 2023 with a title that said, "Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad's Fiery Rebuke: Handcuffing a Female Doctor in a Minor Case."

Team WebQoof found the live recording of the proceedings posted on the official YouTube handle of Patna High Court.

• At around the 4:46:56 timestamp, one could hear the same statements made by Justice Prasad.

Details about the case: As per a NDTV report, 22-year-old influencer Sharmishta Panoli was arrested on 31 May in Gurugram, Haryana.

• This reportedly came after she shared communal remarks against a post that questioned India's military response after the terror attack in Pahalgam.

• She was then granted interim relief from the Calcutta High Court.

Conclusion: It is evident that the video is old and unrelated to influencer Sharmishta Panoli's case.

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