CLAIM
A video of a man sharing his opinions on the judiciary system after the encounter of the four accused in the Hyderabad vet rape-murder case has been going viral on Twitter. It is being shared with the claim that the man is speaking in the video is Justice SriKrishna, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India.
The caption of the video read: “This is Justice SriKrishna . A very upright judge from Mumbai High Court, who was also elevated to the Supreme Court. Resident of Matunga/Wadala. Used to be a regular at Shanmukhananda hall Pls listen 2 wht he says abt the Hyderabd encounter n wht ails the Judiciary [sic].”
The video was also shared with the same claim on Facebook.
News organisation Dainik Savera,also ran this video on their YouTube channel with the caption that read: “Hear the opinion of former Supreme Court Judge Srikrishna on Hyderabad Encounter (Translated).”
TRUE OR FALSE?
False.
The man in the video is not Justice Srikrishna. He is Suresh Kochattil, who earlier claimed to be a social media member of the BJP and according to a bio on TEDx Talks, claims to be a social media expert and activist.
WHAT WE FOUND
Kochattil spearheaded the Hyderabad chapter of social media campaign for Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the 2014 elections. In 2018, Suresh Kochattil had come into limelight for his controversial clip urging people to not send relief supplies for the victims who were affected by the Kerala floods because they mostly belong to “very well to do families.”
The Quint was able to recognise him from that incident.
Close on the heels of the Hyderabad accused encounter, Suresh Kochattil took to his YouTube channel to share his opinion on the judicial system.
The caption of the video read: “Why our judicial system has failed us leading to a system of delivering instant justice.”
He also uploaded the same on Facebook.
In the video he says, “ Our judicial system is broken, this is pathetic. There are cases which go on for two or three decades without seeing an end because there is a vested interest at heart. The judges are not really interested in finishing the cases because the lawyers asks for too many adjournment and in many cases the politician themselves give up after sometime.”
The Quint has reached out to Kochattil and we will update the story with his response if and when he responds.
WHO IS JUSTICE SRIKRISHNA?
Justice Bellur Narayanaswamy Srikrishna is an Indian Jurist and a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. He was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 3 October 2002 and retired on 21 May 2006. Shared below is a photo of his.
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