(Editor's Note: The story was first published on 6 July 2022 and is being republished from The Quint's archives in the light of a Bengaluru court directing social media platforms to take down the photograph being circulated with the false claim.)
A photograph of NDTV's Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy along with The Hindu's N Ram is being shared on social media to claim that the journalists had a lunch with the Supreme Court Judges Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala.
The two judges were a part of the bench that came down heavily on ex-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
However, the image shows the owner of TNQ Books and Journals, Mariam Ram, NDTV co-founder Prannoy Roy, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat, journalist Radhika Roy, founder of MindEspaces Club, Dipali Sikand, CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P Thiaga Rajan, and the director of the The Hindu Publishing Group, N Ram. (From left to right)
The image was uploaded on 3 July 2022 by MindEscapes, a community club at the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.
CLAIM
The caption of the viral post stated that the photo showed SC judges Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala with the Roys.
![The photo shows N Ram and P Thiaga Rajan sitting opposite Prannoy Roy and not the SC Judges.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2022-07%2F17cb0fbc-504f-4da5-ae33-d36f01ed9fb5%2Fscc.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
An archived version of the post can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
Similar posts can be seen here and here.
The Quint also received queries about the viral photo on its WhatsApp tipline.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
On conducting a reverse image search on the photo on Google, we came across a tweet by a community club from Tamil Nadu, @MindEscapesClub, from 3 July 2022.
The tweet carried the same photo and said that the club had arranged 'a Chef's Table session' with Tamil Nadu's Finance Minister P Thiaga Rajan, Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy, Brinda Karat, Prakash Karat, Mariam Ram, N Ram and Dipali Sikand.
![The photo shows N Ram and P Thiaga Rajan sitting opposite Prannoy Roy and not the SC Judges.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2022-07%2F91b6cf34-d43b-4e28-897e-558fde37c305%2Fmind.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
MindEspaces tweeted the photo.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
![The photo shows N Ram and P Thiaga Rajan sitting opposite Prannoy Roy and not the SC Judges.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2022-07%2F85084e63-3c83-4ba7-b408-d667ebe9d00a%2Flin.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
Dipali Sikand posted the picture on her LinkedIn account.
(Source: LinkedIn/Screenshot)
We also compared the two judges with the people seen in the viral photo and found no similarities between them.
(Note: Swipe to see the images)
1. The first photo shows a comparison between the two SC judges, and N Ram and P Thiaga Rajan from the viral photo (right to left).
2. The second photo shows a comparison between Prakash Karat and the SC judges.
We also found a clarification issued by N Ram, the director of the The Hindu Publishing Group, stating that he was present in the photo along with P Thiaga Rajan, the finance minister of Tamil Nadu.
![The photo shows N Ram and P Thiaga Rajan sitting opposite Prannoy Roy and not the SC Judges.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2022-07%2F53dfc5c4-7e33-4131-99dd-f66c91de1433%2Framm.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
N Ram dismissed the claims.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
To sum it up, the people seen in the viral photo are not the Supreme Court judges have a luncheon with the Roys, N Ram and the Karats.
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