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The sole of Neil Armstrong’s lunar overshoes match the boot prints left on the moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 14, 2022
A collage is being shared on social media claiming that the sole of Neil Armstrong’s space boots does not match with the photo of boot prints left on the moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission. Sharing these pictures, this post claims that the lunar landing must have been faked by NASA. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The sole of Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit boots does not match the photo of the boot print left on the moon.
Fact: During NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission, both Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wore lunar overshoes over their spacesuit boots before stepping out on the surface of the moon. The sole of Neil Armstrong’s lunar overshoes matches the boot prints left on the moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission. The post compares the pictures of the sole of a spacesuit boot and the boot prints of the lunar overshoes and misleads people that NASA had faked the landing on moon. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Image 1:
On reverse image search of the image shared in the post, the same photo was found in an article published by the ‘heroiclerics.org’ website. This article reported it as a picture of the thermo-micrometeoroid garmented boot (TMC) used in the Apollo A6-L suit, which predated the A7L/A7LB suit actually worn on the Apollo missions. This boot photo was reportedly captured on 19 January 2012 at the U. S. Rocket and Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the United States. We could not find any other reliable information regarding this photo.
When we searched to find the details of the spacesuit boots used by Neil Armstrong during NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission, we found the pictures of Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit boots in a journal published by NASA. The spacesuit boots used by Neil Armstrong also had a circular mark at the ball of the foot and the mark of the heel corresponded to where the Velcro pads would be affixed.  Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.  Phil Plait, a former astronomer and author, published an article sharing the photos of Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit taken by him at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
Image 2:
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found published on the NASA website. The description of the photo states, “A close-up view of astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s bootprint in the lunar soil, photographed with the 70mm lunar surface camera during Apollo 11’s sojourn on the moon”. NASA published similar boot print pictures in a journal describing them as the photos taken by Buzz Aldrin.
According to the reports, during NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission, both Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wore lunar overshoes over their spacesuit boots before stepping on the surface of the moon. The lunar boot was actually an overshoe that the Apollo lunar explorers slipped on over the integral pressure boot of the spacesuit. The lunar overshoes used in the Apollo 11 Mission reportedly had a sole filled with lines, like rungs of a ladder, formed by eight flat, straight-edged ribs. The lunar overshoes used in NASA’s Apollo 17 mission can be seen here. The sole of these lunar overshoes (also called ‘moon boots’) match with the boot prints left on the surface of the moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 mission.
A picture showing spacesuit boots and lunar overshoes of Neil Armstrong can be seen here. A photo showing the lunar overshoe of Buzz Aldrin can be seen here. As per the reports, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s boots were left on the moon when they returned from the 1969 mission. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the post is comparing the pictures of a sole of a spacesuit boot and boot prints of lunar overshoes and misleads that NASA had faked the landing on the moon.
To sum it up, Neil Armstrong’s lunar overshoes sole match the boot prints left on the moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission.


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The sorry state of Indian Prisons
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 24, 2016
Based on the ‘Prison Statistics Report 2015‘  (PSI) released by the NCRB, here is a compilation of ten important things about Indian Prisons by ‘The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative’ (CHRI)
CHRI’s Comment: Such high proportion of undertrial prisoners points directly to the dysfunctions across the criminal justice system. India ranks 18th (out of 212 countries) for such high levels of undertrial population. Even Uganda and United Arab Emirates do better while countries such as Libya, Bolivia and Liberia rank worse. In the sub-continent, Sri Lanka and Nepal at 52.8 percent and 58.9 percent do much better than India in holding down the numbers in pre-trial detention while Pakistan and Bangladesh are only marginally worse with 69.1 percent and 73.8 percent respectively. Unnecessary arrests, sluggish pace of criminal trials, deliberate delays to suit administrative convenience, and inadequate security and escort staff to ferry prisoners back and forth from prison to court and vacancies in the magistracy are the primary culprits. The consequence are overcrowded prisons and sub-human prison conditions.
CHRI’s Comment: Trials are taking longer to complete and more prisoners now spend longer in jail than before. In 2001 19% spent more than a year in prison awaiting trial now 25% do. Similarly in 2001, 40 percent had spent less than 3 months in prison, now 35 percent do. The proportion of prisoners who have spent less than three months in prison has decreased from 40 percent in 2001 to 35 percent in 2015. Despite all the ‘mission mode’ programmes and attempts to ‘speed up’ trials, the unfortunate reality is that the liberty of those whose guilt has not been established is being curtailed for even longer periods than before. CHRI has been assisting the Supreme Court, through the Amicus Curiae in the writ petition Re-Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons, on the working of the Undertrial Review Committees (UTRCs) with the objective to reduce un-necessary detention. CHRI’s national report on UTRCs ‘Circle of Justice’ would be released on 8th November 2016.
CHRI’s Comment: Too many prisoners are dying behind bars. Most are reported as ‘Natural Deaths’. Natural deaths inside custody however need further scrutiny. Firstly because the person’s liberty is fettered in judicial custody; he/she is dependent on the state for the upkeep of their health. So, deprivation in this area cannot be termed ‘natural’. Secondly because the status of the inquiries conducted to investigate these deaths are not available in public domain. Suicides form the largest chunk of unnatural deaths. The NHRC has recently published a report on prison suicides. It is the responsibility of every prison department to follow the preventive measures the report recommends. Also, mentioning an unspecified category such as ‘others’ does not make for a useful data category in understanding the causes of prison deaths.
CHRI’s Comment: A disproportionate 65 percent of the prison population is made up of Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. There has been miniscule variations in this proportion over the years. As per the PSI 2015 data, Schedule castes form 21.4 percent of the prison population, while they form 16.6% of the general population as per the 2011 Census data. Similarly Schedule Tribes form 12.8% of the prison population whereas only 8.6% of the general population. Muslims form 15 percent of the country’s population but 19% of the prison population.
CHRI’s Comment: 70 percent of the prisoners are either illiterate or have been educated below Class X. These segments are easy to target, know little or nothing of their rights, are unable to challenge police procedures or ensure they have the benefit of good representation or insist on fair trial procedures. At the mercy of an over strained and burdened system they are its ultimate victims.
CHRI’s Comment: Prison officials and staff includes officers, cadre staff, correctional staff, medical staff, ministerial staff and others. Jail cadre forms more than 70 percent of the force. The Model Jail Manual 2016 recommends there should be one guarding staff for every six inmates. In reality it is almost half the standard with 10 prisoners per guarding staff. Without the augmentation of guarding staff and correctional staff, prisons will stay fixed in adversarial staff-inmate relations, in a culture of punishment with extra lock-up hours to serve ‘effective’ management. PSI figures indicate the obvious huge short staffing of prisons. But even this tells just half the story of the sorry state of prison services. Many staff are on suspension or absent on leave or on ancillary and administrative work. Prisons too often rely on convict warders who prison staff must rely on heavily to control the prison. Prison service staff are ill-trained, poorly paid, badly accommodated and often remain without promotion or any career advancement for years together. Senior positions of responsibility are inevitably filled by higher ranking personnel from the police who have neither the training nor experience to run prisons as anything more than holding cells with no thought of them possibly being correctional facilities as the policies on paper seem to suggest they should be.
CHRI’s Comment: As per the September 2015 report by the World Prison Brief and Institute of Criminal Policy Research, since the year 2000, the population levels of women prisoners have grown much faster than male prison population levels. The number of women and girls in prison have increased by 50 percent in the past 15 years. India too has seen an increase in population of women prisoners. With a population of 11094, women inmates formed 3.5 percent of prison population in 2001. 15 years later, Indian prisons house 17834 women inmates, an increase of 61 percent. Therefore their share in prison population has gone up to 4.3 percent. In the last decade, 477 women inmates have died inside prison.
CHRI’s Comment: Every prison in the country is required to be inspected or ‘visited’. Regular visits are mandated by law and visitors include magistrates and judges, human rights commissions, officers from public works, medical and health, social welfare departments and respected people drawn from local society. They can make individual and collective visits, surprise and scheduled visits to listen to prisoners’ grievances, identify areas of concern, and seek resolution of problems. Board of Visitors made up of local officials and folks drawn from the area are required to come together to make reports and monitor improvements. CHRI’s recent report ‘Looking Into The Haze: A National Study on Monitoring of Jails in India’ to be released on 8th November shows that across India Boards of Visitors are rarely operational, where they are they do not meet at all regularly, do not fulfil mandates nor report back to the jail department as they should, non-official visitors are not appointed in most states and visits when they take place are limited to charitable distributions on formal occasions like Diwali or Republic Day where there is little opportunity to transact the business of inspection with any seriousness. The NCRB data segregates inspections to categories of inspections by’ Medical’, ‘Executive’, ‘Judicial’ and ‘Other’ inspections. The average of two visits a month may appear reasonable but it is not clear whether every prison benefitted from two visits each month. Given CHRI’s findings this regularity is very doubtful. As is the efficacy of visits. Prison wise data that indicates the periodicity of visits and whether Boards have been constituted and non-official visitors appointed would assist in defining the quality of inspections, or indicate what was seen and heard, what was recommended for improvement and followed up on. So poor is the oversight of prisons that the Supreme Court has taken on to itself the task of monitoring prisons through the judiciary as well as monitoring and directing the rectification of the system through an on-going case aptly named “ Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons’ The NCRB does not provide any useful insight due to amorphous classification of data into vague heads of ‘Medical, ‘Executive’, ‘Judicial’ and ‘Other’ inspections. Even from the little data that is provided, it is visible that on average an Indian prison was visited only twice every month in 2015 – that is after we assume that all prisons were visited. Although, the total number of inspections have increased, what is more important is that the monthly inspection rate remains the same since 2005. CHRI has been advocating for the implementation of the statutory requirement of the constitution of Board of Visitors (BOV) in every jail for effective prison monitoring.
CHRI’s Comment: There has been an increase in the expenditure on prisoners over the years. However that has not translated into an improvement in the quality and condition of life inside prisons. Rajasthan surprisingly only spent rupees 8 per prisoner. Also, there is an unreasonable variation in the spending on the prison in different states. The majority of the funds sanctioned are allocated to food and clothing. Resources have not been allocated to vocational and education purposes. This directly impacts the health of the prison.
CHRI’s Comment: There were 6185 foreign prisoners in India as on 31st December, 2015. As with other Indian inmates, more than half were awaiting or undergoing trial. Bengal’s prisons house more than half the total foreign prisoners in the country. 98 percent of these are Bangladesh nationals. Roughly 70 percent of all the convicts booked mainly under Section 14 of the pre-colonial Foreigners Act were also lodged in West Bengal. NCRB data does not take account of the numbers of foreigners whose prison term is over but who remain in prison for want of assistance and means to return to their own countries. They continue to remain incarcerated well past the official date of their release. The website of West Bengal Correctional Services reveals that till 1st May, 2016 it housed a total 21530 prisoners against the capacity of 20496. It is important to note that the foreign overstays constituted 3 percent of the total population. The proportion could have been more with the inclusion of their children. Despite bilateral agreements for repatriation lack of diligent consular assistance, restrictions on making restrictions on making international calls to family, lack of implementation of agreements on transferring of prisoners between India and Bangladesh, sketchy application of deportation/repatriation procedures and absence of alternative facilities to house the released prisoners contribute to this enormous humanitarian and administrative problem.

source: news-factly

created: October 24, 2016

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Southern states account for 58% of value of goods produced by inmates 2017
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 20, 2019
Reformation of inmates is one of the primary goals of prisons. The NCRB 2017 report on prisons indicates that the southern states are leading the way in the value of goods produced by inmates. Telangana has produced almost 21% of the value of goods produced by inmates in the country.
Prisons act as a controlled environment for those arrested, under the supervision of the state and are aimed at reformation of the inmates. To reduce recidivism and to aid rehabilitation, the inmates are offered vocational skills training, access to education, library, yoga and meditation sessions. Vocational skills training provides an alternative livelihood source for offenders when they are released on completing their sentences. This also ensures that the time spent serving their sentences is also made to use in a constructive manner.
The United Nations’ Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners of1955 lays out rules to be adhered to by various countries, to ensure humanetreatment of prison inmates. Rehabilitation of inmates is also discussed in thedocument. The Model Prisons Manual ,prepared by the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPRD) advises allstates to devise appropriate policies to facilitate prisoners’ employment andrehabilitation. Convicts and under-trial prisoners who volunteer to work are tobe paid nominal wages for their labour as per rules. They cannot be compelledto work for more than nine hours a day.
Jail products have even
entered mainstream markets
Thearticles produced in prison industries are sold to government departments,cooperatives, and other public undertakings. Of late, prison industries in someof the states are flourishing. In Kerala,jails are collaborating with online food delivery firms to cater to morecustomers. Brand ‘TJ’ is an initiative of Tihar Jail which has a wide range ofproducts ranging from bakery items, jute bags recycled paper products topaintings and furniture sold in their exclusive stores set up across New Delhi. Even in stateslike Telangana,inmates are extended training and their products are sold through dedicatedoutlets.
Prison Statistics 2017
was released this year after a delay of one year
TheNational Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released the annual Prison StatisticsIndia report of 2017 recently. In this report, the NCRB presents the numbersand figures related to prisons, inmates, staff, facilities and more. In thisstory, we explore the figures related to vocational training impartedand goods produced injails across India.
Goods worth almost Rs.
280 crores were produced in Indian Prisons in 2017
Thevalue of goods produced in Indian prisons has touched the highest totalling toRs. 279.8 crores in 2017. This is the second time it has crossed the Rs. 200crore mark, after 2015. Since 2010, the total value of goods produced has morethan tripled, from Rs. 80.1 crores in 2010 to Rs. 279.8 crores in 2017. Comparedto 2016, the value of goods produced has increased by about 40%. The valueof goods produced in 2016 was slightly less than the value of goods produced in2015.
Telangana contributes
to more than one-fifth of the total earnings of India
Thestate of Telangana has reported the highest value of goods produced in 2017.With an earning of Rs. 59.9 crores, Telangana alone contributes 21% of thetotal earnings reported in India. Not far behind, Tamil Nadu has reportedearnings of Rs. 56.8 crores in the same year. A total of 41% of  total earnings are contributed by these twostates. Maharashtra and Kerala are next in line with Rs. 30.5 crores and Rs.29.4 crores respectively. Bihar reported the fifth highest-earning with Rs.16.3 crores. The value reported by the top ten states in terms of earningsamount to Rs. 250.1 crores which is almost 90% of the total earnings of India.
South Indian states
together contribute almost 58% of the total value of goods produced
Ona closer look, the performance of the states in the south seems to be better thanthe states in other parts of the country. The total value of goods produced inthe southern states of Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, andKarnataka is Rs. 162.7 crores which is almost 58% of the national total. It hasto be noted that these five states account for only about 12% of all the inmatepopulation in the country.  North-easternstates of Assam, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, andArunachal Pradesh together have together reported sales worth Rs. 15 Lakhs only,may be owing to a fewer number of inmates.
Each inmate in
Telangana produced goods worth more than Rs. 1 lakh, about 16 times the
national average
Anotherobservation is that the productivity of the inmates is the highest inTelangana. Here, by productivity, reference has been made to the average valueof goods produced per inmate. In other words, the total value of goods dividedby the total number of inmates in each of the states has been calculated as theproductivity. In Telangana, the average value of goods produced per inmate was worthRs. 1.08 lakh in 2017, which is almost 16 times the national average.  Following Telangana is Chandigarh with productivityof Rs. 41,705 per inmate. Tamil Nadu has a productivity of Rs. 40,685 perinmate. In addition to these three states, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh also havea productivity of more than Rs. 10,000 per inmate. Rajasthan has the lowestproductivity at just Rs. 461 per inmate. The national average in terms of thevalue of goods produced per inmate is Rs. 6209 in 2017.
Based on the type of
labour, nominal daily wage is provided to the inmates
Anaverage of Rs. 97.5 is paid each day to an inmate involved in skilled labour.For semi-skilled and unskilled labour, the average wage was Rs. 82.7 and Rs.74.4 respectively. Himachal Pradesh pays a wage of Rs. 210 each day to alllabourers irrespective of skill.
Around 47,000 inmates
underwent training in various vocational skills
Vocationalskills training was provided to 47,390 inmates in 2017, which is about 10% ofthe total inmate strength in the country. About 9% of them got trained inweaving and 6.9% got trained in tailoring. Around 6% got trained in carpentryand 5.4% in agriculture. Bihar accounted for 8.4% of the trained inmates in thecountry.
From the chart, it is evident that a significant number (69%) of inmates were trained in ‘other’ skills. These other skills include agarbatti (incense sticks) making, artificial flower making, adult education, plumbing, food items production, handicraft, sanitary napkin production, and other innovations. 14.7% of the inmates who gained training in other skills are from Delhi.
Featured Image: Reformation of inmates

created: November 20, 2019


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The Spanish Meteorological Agency has not confessed that Spain is being sprayed with chemtrails from planes - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 12, 2024
A post featuring a screenshot of a news report is being shared on social media claiming that ‘the Spanish Meteorological Department has confessed that Spain is being sprayed with Lead dioxide, silver iodide, and diatomite to manipulate the weather conditions.’ Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Spanish Meteorological Department has confessed that Spain is being sprayed with Lead dioxide, silver iodide, and diatomite to manipulate weather conditions.
Fact: This news has been in circulation since 2021. There is no evidence that Spanish authorities have confirmed that Spain is being sprayed with chemtrails. In 2015, the European Parliament clarified that there was no evidence supporting the allegations of a military geoengineering scheme to alter the climate in Spain. Besides, the commission clarified that neither existing nor proposed EU legislation includes any programs, policies, or activities that promote geoengineering by stratospheric aerosol or other forms of aerial aerosol spraying. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Upon conducting a relevant keyword search, it was found that this article has been in circulation since 2021. The article mentions that “on 19 May 2015, Member of the European Parliament Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (ALDE) announced in the European Parliament that four workers from the State Meteorological Agency had confessed that Spain was being sprayed with lead dioxide, silver iodide, and diatomite from airplanes to manipulate weather conditions for tourism and agricultural interests. He alleged adverse effects on regions like Murcia, the Valencian Community, and Almería, causing prolonged droughts, intense cold drops, and respiratory issues.” However, no credible reports indicating that Spanish authorities have made such statements were found in our research.
In subsequent research, it was found on the European Parliament website in 2015, a Spanish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) raised a question, stating, “Four employees of Spain’s Meteorological Agency have confessed that Spain is being sprayed nationwide by aircraft that are spreading lead dioxide, silver iodide, and diatomite through the atmosphere. What is the Commission’s view of this situation?” The European Commission responded, “Having investigated the matter with the Spanish authorities, the Commission found no evidence supporting the allegations of a military geoengineering scheme to alter the climate in Spain.”
Besides, the commission also answered the question raised in 2014 by confirming that neither existing nor proposed EU legislation includes any programs, policies, or activities that promote geoengineering by stratospheric aerosol or other forms of aerial aerosol spraying. A representative from Spain’s state meteorological agency informed the Spanish fact-checker Newtral that no meteorologist affiliated with their agency had confirmed the conspiracy theory regarding ‘chemtrails.’
The post also claims that many believe that condensation trails left by high-altitude aeroplanes are “chemtrails,” and that these contain undisclosed chemical or biological agents which cause climate modification. Contrary to this, these trails, also known as contrails, are created when the hot water vapour emitted by a jet engine after combustion cools and condenses in Earth’s atmosphere.
To sum up, the Spanish Meteorological Agency has not confessed that Spain is being sprayed with chemtrails from planes.


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special economic zones in india
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 3, 2015
The Parliament is debating the amendment ordinance to the ‘The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act’ (RFCTLARR). Land Acquisition has become a national subject for debate. It is important to understand if the land acquired for industrial purpose is actually put to use and to look at the related data. In this context, we bring you a series of stories discussing the issues & performance of Special Economic Zones in India based on the report of the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG). Here is the first in that series, explaining the SEZ concept and other related facts.
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a special geographical region which has completely different laws when compared to other regions. SEZ’s enjoys tax breaks, simplified procedures, less regulations and restrictions, exemption from customs and duties, all of which is done to
Who can set up a SEZ?
Who monitors SEZs?
An appointed committee of State govt. representative or a Development Commissioner is responsible to monitor the performance of SEZ on annual basis.
The Life Cycle of a SEZ
State-wise distribution of approved SEZs (As on 21st January, 2015)
Here is the state wise distribution of SEZs.
The Top 10 states in terms of SEZ approvals are
Here is the complete list of SEZs that are formally approved & those that are notified.
Total land for these SEZs
1 Hectare = 2.47 acres
Total investment in SEZs in Rs Crores (As on 30th September, 2014)
Total employment in SEZs in terms of number of people (As on 30th September, 2014)
Data Source: www.sezindia.nic.in


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The speed of the train in the photo is overstated, its top speed is claimed to be 600 kph - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 20, 2021
A photo of a train is being widely shared through a post claiming it to be ‘China’s new 750 kph (573 mph) maglev passenger train’. The post even claims that it is now the fastest land vehicle on earth. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo of ‘China’s new 750 kph (573 mph) maglev passenger train’.
Fact: 573 miles per hour is approximately equal to 922 kilometres per hour, not ‘750 kph’ as stated in the post. The train in the photo is a maglev bullet train that can reach speeds of 600 kilometres per hour (373 miles per hour). In 2015, Japan had set a new world record when a Japanese maglev train had hit 603 kph on an experimental track in Yamanashi. However, the Chinese train is said to be the world’s fastest maglev transportation system to be rolled off the assembly line. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
573 miles per hour is approximately equal to 922 kilometres per hour (kph), not 750 kph as stated in the post. When we did a reverse image search on the photo, a CNN article with the same image was found. The article was published on 21 July 2021 with the title, “China debuts world’s fastest train.” The train was developed by the state-owned China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation that had made its debut in Qingdao, China. The maglev bullet train can reach speeds of 600 kilometres per hour (373 miles per hour). “’Maglev’ is an abbreviation of ‘magnetic levitation’. The train appears to be ‘floating’ thanks to an electromagnetic force that sends it gliding above the tracks.”
According to Reuters, at the speed (top speed of 600kph) of this train, it would take two and a half hours to go from Beijing to Shanghai, a journey of more than 1,000 km. The journey would take three hours by plane and five and a half hours by high-speed rail. While the planes fly at an average of 800-900 kph, high-speed trains run at about 350 kph in China. The pictures of the high-speed maglev train can be seen in the articles here and here.
In 2015, Japan had set a new world record when a Japanese maglev train had hit 603 kph on an experimental track in Yamanashi. However, according to this article, the Chinese train is said to be the world’s fastest maglev transportation system to be rolled off the assembly line. According to the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece – Global Times – the construction of a 1,000 kph maglev train is about to start on a test line, in North China.
To sum it up, the speed of the train in the photo is overstated, its top speed is claimed to be 600 kph.

created: September 20, 2021


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The squirrel in this viral video did not manually control the model flight; it was operated remotely. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 8, 2023
A video of a squirrel allegedly stealing and flying a model aircraft is being shared on social media. We have received a few requests on our WhatsApp tipline to check the authenticity of the video. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: A squirrel has stolen a model aircraft and flew it away.
Fact: The viral video is part of a skit posted on a YouTube channel named HobbyWars. The flying portion of the video was reportedly shot using green screen effects and a dummy squirrel while the aircraft was remotely controlled. Hence, the claim made in the viral video is False.
To learn more about the viral video, we performed a keyword search on the internet, leading us to a longer version of this video uploaded on a YouTube channel named HobbyWars. The YouTube video titled ‘Squirrel Steals Airplane’ was uploaded on 17 December 2013.
DailyMail reported in 2014 that this video is a sketch, and that the craft was remote controlled and the squirrel was only in the flying seat for a few seconds before being replaced by a model and a green screen.
Speaking to the DailyMail, Ron Knight, the host of ‘HobbyWars’, said “I posted this video because there are days when we all need something to laugh about.”  This evidence makes it clear that the squirrel in the viral video was not actually controlling the plane manually. There are quite a few similar videos of squirrels taking away flying devices (here and here) on HobbyWars, the channel description of which reads, “For entertainment purposes only.”
To sum up, the viral video of a squirrel flying a model aircraft is a skit. A model squirrel and a green screen were used to film this.

created: December 8, 2023


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The Stamp released on the occasion of the 9th Asian Games, 1982 has no religious connotation - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 22, 2023
A post claiming that a stamp depicting an Ottoman Muslim wrestler beating a Hindu wrestler was issued by Indira Gandhi for the Asian Games in 1982 is being shared on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Indira Gandhi issued a stamp for the Asian Games in 1982 which depicts an Ottoman Muslim wrestler beating a Hindu wrestler.
Fact: The postal stamp was issued on the occasion of the 9 Asian Games in 1982. However, the religion of the wrestlers on the stamp was nowhere mentioned. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
On performing a reverse image search of the stamp, we found the same postal stamp published on the website of the Olympic Council of Asia and Stamp World. This was one of the postal stamps that was issued in 1982 to commemorate the 9 Asian Games held in New Delhi in 1982.
Subsequent research led us to the description of the stamp on istampgallery, an online archive of postage stamps. The stamp is a Mughal style painting with a predominant Persian influence. It was designed by A. Ramachandran based on the painting done by Janaki which is now preserved in National Museum, New Delhi.
The description did not mention the religion of the persons depicted in the stamp on the website, and neither did the designer A. Ramachandran mention any religion regarding the stamp on his website. Apart from this stamp, many other postal stamps were issued on the occasion of Asian Games in 1982.
To sum up, the stamp released on the occasion of 9 Asian games, 1982 has no religious connotation attached to it.

created: September 22, 2023


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The statement, ‘the sound of cash being dispensed at an ATM is fake’ is misleading - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 21, 2022
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that the sound of cash being dispensed at an ATM is fake. The post claims that the sound is not real, but is produced by a small speaker inside the ATM. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The sound of cash being dispensed at an ATM is fake.
Fact: Majorly, the sound of cash dispensed comes from the working of motors and machines inside the ATMs; there is no special speaker to create an artificial sound. However, there can be a possibility of designing an ATM which can artificially make sounds of cash dispensed. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The claim is being shared online for a long time now. It is being shared on social media at least since 2014.
When we searched online about the claim that the sound of cash being dispensed at an ATM is fake, we found a YouTube video which explains the functioning of an ATM by showing the insides of it. The YouTuber shows the working of the machine while some supposed cash was being dispensed. It can be seen in the video that the sound comes from the motors and machines inside the ATM. There was no special speaker inside the ATM.
Several people who claim to have serviced ATMs refuted the viral claim, which can be seen here and here. However, there can be a possibility of designing an ATM which can artificially make sounds of cash dispensed.
To sum it up, the statement, ‘the sound of cash being dispensed at an ATM is fake’ is misleading.


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The story about Arnold Schwarzenegger sleeping in front of his statue because he was denied a room in the hotel is false - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 28, 2019
An image of Arnold Schwarzenegger is being shared widely on social media with a claim that he slept in front of his statue because he was denied a room in the hotel once inaugurated by him. In the post, it is also being claimed that the statue is at the hotel. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
After being denied a room in the hotel inaugurated by him, Arnold Schwarzenegger slept in front of the statue at the hotel.
Fact: The statue in the photo is at the ‘Greater Columbus Convention Center’. The photo was taken in 2016 when he was in Ohio for a movie shooting and visited the convention centre. According to the ‘Daily Mail’ website, he ‘pretended to sleep and possibly appear homeless as he posed underneath a statue of his former self in Ohio’. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The photo was posted by Arnold Schwarzenegger on his social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) with the description – ‘How times have changed.’, in January-2016. He did not mention any story with respect to the photo.
When searched for the news articles published regarding this photo in 2016, an article by the ‘Daily Mail’ can be found in the search results. In the article, the same photo was found with the following description: ‘Memory lane: The actor pretended to sleep and possibly appear homeless as he posed underneath a statue of his former self in Ohio’. Also, an article in the ‘People’ mentions that the actor ‘decided to take a catnap in front of the massive bronze statue of his bodybuilder self’.
Also, in the article by ‘E News’, it can be read that the photo was taken outside the ‘Greater Columbus Convention Center’. More about the statue can be read here.
When similar posts went viral earlier, other fact-checkers (Snopes and Africa Check) across the world have written fact-check articles on this issue.
To sum it up, the story about Arnold Schwarzenegger sleeping infront of his statue because he was denied a room in the hotel is false
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created: November 28, 2019


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The Story of ‘Cruelty to Animals’ cases in India - Lack of Data & Minimal Penalties
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 20, 2021
While India enacted the ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ act in 1960, minimal penalties & lack of data have been the feature of its implementation. The government also acknowledged that the minimal penalties are not acting as a deterrent. However, there has been no serious effort to amend the legislation or even make the data available.
Article 51A (g) of the Constitution of India states that it is the fundamental duty of every Indian citizen to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures. Nonetheless, numerous incidents of animal cruelty have been brought to light through social media in recent years. Brutal crimes against animals such as the death of a pregnant elephant that ate pineapple with explosives in it, dog beaten to death, puppies set on fire, dragging dogs tied to a scooter, rape of cow, and execution of monkeys are reported from across the country and have caught the social media by storm.
India has many legislations for protecting animals
Prevention of cruelty to animals has been listed in the Concurrent List which means both the Union and State Governments have the power to enact legislations in this matter. There are broadly three animal protection laws in India, viz. Section 428 & 429 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Besides the three, there are other laws such as The Performing Animals Rules,1973, The Transport of Animals Rules, 1978, and The Experiments On Animals( Control And Supervision) Rules,1968,  which are specific to certain activities.
Section 428 and 429, IPC treats killing or maiming animals as a cognizable offence
Under Sections 428 & 429 of IPC, causing mischief by killing or maiming any animal worth ten rupees or more is a cognizable offence which fetches a punishment of two years in prison, a fine, or both. If any designated animal of any worth or that worth Rs. 50 or more is killed or maimed, the punishment is up to five years in prison and/or a fine.
Wildlife Protection Act deals with the protection of flora and fauna to ensure ecological security
The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 aims to safeguard all plants and animal species in the country to ensure environmental and ecological security. The Act prohibits the hunting of endangered animals while providing for the establishment of wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, and zoos. According to Section 51of the Act, any person who contravenes any provision of the act shall be guilty of offences listed in the act and shall on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment for three years or fined which may extend to Rs. 25,000 or with both. The imprisonment term may extend to seven years in the case of offences against specific animals.
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act deals with captive and domestic animals
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (PCA) is a legislation that exclusively deals with captive & domestic animals. The objective of the Act is to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals, such as the incidents mentioned at the beginning of the story. The Act defines animals as any living creature other than a human being. It also defines what captive and domestic animals are, as the legislation is applicable to both these types of animals.
Chapter 3 of the Act lists out the different acts which are considered a cruel treatment of animals. These include physical harm such as beating, running over, tortures, load over, engagement in labour work despite sickness, administration of dangerous drugs, confinement in cages where animals cannot move about, not supplying adequate water, food, and shelter, abandonment in situations wherein the animal has to suffer, animal fighting for money, and keeping the animal chained for a long period of time. However, acts of dehorning cattle, nose-roping, castration, destroying stray dogs in lethal chambers or by other methods with minimal suffering or exterminating animals under legal authority, and preparing for human consumption, are exempted from the ambit of cruelty, provided it is done in the prescribed manner with minimal suffering and pain inflicted on the animals.
The act imposes a fine between Rs. 10 to Rs. 50 in the case of a first offence. This may extend up to Rs. 100 in case of subsequent offence within 3 years, and/or imprisonment for up to 3 months.
Animal Welfare Board of India was established under the Act
The Act also established the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) for promoting animal welfare and for protecting animals from cruelty. The main function of the Board is to keep the law in force in India, adopt essential steps to improve the conditions of animals, and advise the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying and governments for the enactment of rules under the Act. As of July 2021, AWBI has granted recognition to over 3,661 Animal Welfare Organizations across India. The board provides funds for maintaining animal shelters, medicines, medical equipment, and conducting veterinary camps, among other activities.
Though AWBI is an advisory body to Union and State governments, the implementation of statutory laws is the primary duty of the State government along with prevention, detection, registration, and investigation of crimes. AWBI writes regularly to States/UTs to ensure that cruel acts are prevented, and the provisions and rules are implemented.
AWBI, in its annual reports, provides details of the complaints received pertaining to animal cruelty in the country along with the action taken. The complaints received by AWBI are forwarded to the respective states/UTs to take the required action. Since 2014-15, a total of 1,901 cases have been forwarded to the states/UTs by the AWBI. The data is available up to 25 July 2021.
The latest data on cases booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal act not available
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports data on all types of crimes in the country through its annual ‘Crime in India (CII)’ report. It groups crimes under special & local laws (SLL) like the ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animal act’ and does not provide data specific to crimes registered under each of these laws. Hence the latest year-wise data on the number of cases booked under the ‘Prevention of Cruelty to Animal act’ is not available. However, the government told the parliament in 2016 that as many as 7853, 14235 and 2265 cases were registered under this act during 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively. A total of 11,950 persons were convicted in 2012-13, 20,164 in 2013-14, and 3,801 persons were convicted in 2014-15. It must be noted that data for many states was not provided in this parliament answer.
FIAPO’s report talks about the inadequacy of data
According to a report published by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) and All Creatures Great and Small (ACGS), between 2010-2020, a total of 4,93,910 animals were involved in various incidents. This, however, does not mean all these animals were subject to cruelty. The report also states that most states were not recording crimes against animals and hence there is no data to analyse. The organization did secondary research through newspaper reports and other sources and compiled a few statistics.
The report mentions 720 cases of crime against street animals, 741 cases against working animals, 588 cases against companion animals, 88 cases against farm animals, and 258 cases against wild animals and birds. About 1,000 assault cases were documented which included 82 cases of sexual abuse, 266 cases of cold-blooded murder, and over 400 cases of violent attacks of beating, kicking, torturing, throwing acid or boiling water, maiming a part of the body, attacking with a knife or a blunt object. 20 of the documented cases were assault by children.
The government acknowledges that penalties in the PCA act are not acting as a deterrent
The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is now a 60-year-old legislation with no major amendments in recent times. Monetary fines imposed for crimes against animals continue to be meager in the range of Rs. 10 to Rs. 100. This could be one reason the legislation has not been able to act as a deterrent to animal cruelty. The government also accepted in the Lok Sabha Government has received many suggestions, petitions, and requests from various sections of the societies to increase the existing penalties in the PCA act. In the same answer, the government acknowledged that penalties prescribed in the PCA Act are minimal and do not act as a deterrent.
A draft bill titled the Animal Welfare Act 2011 was proposed in 2011 to replace the 1960 law but could not make much headway. Further, multiple private member bills were introduced in the parliament including an amendment to increase the penalty. As with all the private member bills, none of them were taken up. Likewise, the 261st Report of the Law Commission had laid down some guidelines and listed suggestions in 2015, which have not yet been incorporated.
As noted earlier in this story, the lack of availability of the data on cases registered under the PCA act is another major issue as no analysis on trends is possible without data. Course correction & policy interventions also suffer because of the lack of data.
It is high time that India comes up with a legislation with stringent provisions to replace the PCA act. India must also ensure data on cases related to cruelty against animals is properly maintained and be made available by the NCRB or other agencies as is the case with other crimes. India can take a cue from countries like the UK where punishments include a lifetime ban from owning pets, a 51-week maximum jail term, and a penalty of up to £20,000.
Featured Image: Cruelty to Animals cases in India


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The structure adjacent to the Odisha train accident site is an ISKCON Temple, not a mosque - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 5, 2023
In the context of the recent tragic train accident that took place near Bahanaga Bazar Railway station in Odisha, resulting in the loss of over 275 lives, a post is circulating on social media claiming that the station master of Bahanaga Bazar railway station Mohammad Sharif has been missing since the accident. The post also claims that the structure near the accident site is a mosque, implying that the accident was caused by a particular community. Let’s verify the claims made in the post.
Claim: Bahanaga Bazar Railway Station Master Mohammad sharif has been absconding since the occurrence of the accident and the structure located near the accident site is a mosque.
Fact: The individual responsible for overseeing the Bahanaga Bazar Railway station at the time of the accident was Assistant Station Master SB Mohanty, who is currently under investigation by the Railway Authorities. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the structure near the accident site is, in fact, an ISKCON Temple and not a mosque. Hence, the claims made in the post are FALSE.
According to a press release by the South-eastern Railways, the accident occurred near Bahanaga Bazar Railway station. The railway authorities have initiated an investigation, and preliminary findings suggest that the accident was caused by a signalling error. Earlier reports from local media indicated that Assistant Station Master SB Mohanty was missing since the accident. However, one of the Station Managers S.K Pattanayak later clarified that S.B Mohanty, who was in charge of the station during the accident, is currently under investigation.
Additionally, an FIR has been registered at the Balasore GRPS regarding the accident, but it does not mention any person named Sharif or any other individual absconding after the accident. To verify this information, we reached out to Balasore GRPS Sub-Inspector Papu Kumar Naik, who confirmed that there is no station master named Sharif involved in this incident and called it fake news.
Regarding the structure adjacent to the accident spot, the visuals published by various media outlets (here, here, and here) indicate that it resembles a temple rather than a mosque.
To gather more evidence, we conducted a search on Google Earth and Google Maps, which confirmed that the structure is indeed the ‘Bahanga ISKCON Temple’.
In addition, local journalists shared the visuals of this ISKCON temple from the accident site to several fact-checking sites. The visuals can be viewed here and here.
Furthermore, the Odisha police have strongly appealed to users not to share any such communal misinformation, and they have emphasized that action will be taken against those spreading such falsehoods.
It has come to notice that some social media handles are mischievously giving communal colour to the tragic train accident at Balasore. This is highly unfortunate.
Investigation by the GRP, Odisha into the cause and all other aspects of the accident is going on.
To sum it up, the in-charge station master of Bahanaga Bazar Railway station during the accident SB Mohanty is currently under investigation. Moreover, the structure adjacent to the accident site has been identified as the ISKCON Temple and not a mosque.


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The students seen passing indecent comments on a teacher in this video are not Hindus - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 1, 2022
Video of a group of students passing obscene comments on a teacher with a Hijab is being widely shared on social media claiming that the students belong to the Hindu Community. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of Hindu students passing obscene comments on a teacher with Hijab.
Fact: This incident happened in Meerut District of Uttar Pradesh on 24 November 2022 . As per the FIR filed at Kithaur police station, all the four accused belong to Muslim community. They were booked under sections 354, 500 of IPC and section 67 of IT Act. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We searched the internet with relevant keywords and found news reports by Times of India, NDTV dated 28 November 2022. As per these reports, four students, including a girl, have been detained after being booked for allegedly harassing a female teacher at a school in Radhna Inayatpur village under Kithaur police station area of Meerut district. The four students have been booked under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 500 (defamation) of the IPC and Section 67 (Publishing of information which is Obscene in electronic form) of IT Act.
As per the FIR, the names of the accused are Aman, Kaif, Atash and Shagufa. All of them belong to Muslim community.
To sum it up, both the victim and the accused in this incident belong to Muslim Community.

created: December 1, 2022


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The suicide incident in the video didn’t take place at the Secunderabad Railway Station - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 25, 2019
A video of a man standing atop a train on the platform and getting electrocuted when he tried to touch a high tension wire is being shared widely on social media claiming that the incident had taken place at the Secunderabad railway station. Let’s try to check the authenticity of the claim.
Video of a man electrocuted at the Secunderabad Railway Station (Telangana).
Fact: The video shows a man committing suicide by electrocution at the Malda Town Railway Station, West Bengal. So, the claim is FALSE.
In the video, the man seemed to be deliberately touching the high tension wire. So, when searched on Google with keywords ‘Man committing suicide by electrocution at a railway station’, many search results were obtained. Among them, the search result of a news website ‘Hood site’ had the same video in its article. From the article, it was found that a man named ‘Binod Bhuiyan’ had committed suicide by electrocution at the Malda Town Railway Station in West Bengal. With this information, when searched for more news reports, an article of the ‘Patrika’ was found. The information from the article corroborated that the suicide incident in the video had taken place at the Malda Town railway station in West Bengal.
To conclude, the suicide incident in the video didn’t take place at the Secunderabad Railway Station. It occurred at the Malda Town railway station in West Bengal.
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created: November 25, 2019


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The Supreme Court has not approved any logo to be used by teachers on their vehicles - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 21, 2021
A post claiming that Supreme Court has approved a logo for teachers to put on their vehicles just like doctors is being shared widely on social media. The post also shares the image of the logo. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Supreme Court has approved teachers to put their logo on vehicles just like doctors.
Fact: PIB through a tweet has categorically stated that the Supreme Court has not approved any such logo for teachers to put on their vehicles. Their tweet has rated the claim as fake. Further, there are no such directions or judgement available on the Supreme Court website. Also, we could not find any news articles or official records in support of this claim. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Google search with relevant keywords led us to a 06 February 2020 tweet by PIB which fact-checked the claim. As per the tweet ‘the Supreme Court has not approved any such logo for teachers to put on their vehicles’. Further, the tweet rated the news as FAKE.
#PIBFACTCHECK
Claim: Supreme court has Approved a logo for the teachers to put on their vehicles
Reality:  This is a #FAKENEWS.  No such directive has been given by SC. pic.twitter.com/Gt5jMnEPpC
Further search on the Supreme Court website using ‘teachers logo’ as keyword and with free text filter did not yield any results.
Google search with relevant keywords did not yield us any news articles stating the Supreme Court has issued such a directive. However, the search led us to a February 2020 Hindustan Times news article which reiterated the PIB’s fact-check which rated the claim as fake.
Reverse image search of the photo in the post led us to a Facebook page titled ‘Teacher Logo’ through which the same logos are being publicized. Taking a cue from this page, further search on Facebook with relevant keywords led us to the Facebook account of ‘Rajesh Khanna’ who claimed that the logo was founded by him. However, we could not independently verify his claim. Hence we can say conclusively that the Supreme court has not issued any direction which allows teachers to put this logo on their vehicles.
To sum it up, the Supreme Court of India has not approved any logo to be used by teachers on their vehicles.

created: January 21, 2021


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The Supreme Court has not declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 16, 2022
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the Supreme Court has declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Supreme Court has declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid.
Fact: The court has not declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid. While giving a judgement in a case where the couple married in the 1940s under the Muslim law, the Court said – “the marriage of a Muslim man with an idolater or fireworshipper is neither a valid (sahih) nor a void (batil) marriage, but is merely an irregular (fasid) marriage. Any child born out of such wedlock (fasid  marriage) is entitled to claim a share in his father’s property”. Under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, a Hindu woman can marry a Muslim man, and their marriage will be valid (if they meet the conditions under the Act). Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched with keywords on the internet, the same news was found to be published by several news agencies in 2019. An article published by ‘The Times of India’ in 2019 with the title – “Marriage of Hindu woman and Muslim man irregular; child born is legitimate: SC” can be read here. While giving a judgement in a case where the couple married in the 1940s under the Muslim law, the Court said – “the marriage of a Muslim man with an idolater or fireworshipper is neither a valid (sahih) nor a void (batil) marriage, but is merely an irregular (fasid) marriage. Any child born out of such wedlock (fasid  marriage) is entitled to claim a share in his father’s property”.
The court also mentioned that – “A.A.A.Fyzee, at page 76 of his book Outlines of Muhammadan Law (5th edition) reiterates by citing Mulla that the nikah of a Muslim man with an idolater or fireworshipper is only irregular and not void. He also refers to Ameer Ali’s proposition that such a marriage would not affect the legitimacy of the offspring, as the polytheistic woman may at any time adopt Islam, which would at once remove the bar and validate the marriage”. The judgement copy can be found here.
The court has not declared anywhere that all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men are invalid. Under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, a Hindu woman can marry a Muslim man, and their marriage will be valid (if they meet the conditions under the Act). The Hindu woman need not convert to Islam for marriage to be valid under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
To sum it up, the Supreme Court has not declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid

created: December 16, 2022


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The Supreme Court has not given a verdict mandating parental approval for court or love marriages - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 22, 2023
A widely shared social media post claims that the Supreme Court of India held that it is mandatory to have parental consent for love or court marriages. Let’s verify the claim in the post.
Claim: Supreme Court of India held that it is mandatory to have parental consent for love or court marriages.
Fact: The Supreme Court has not given any verdict mandating parental approval for court or love marriages. The court in fact has consistently held that there is no legal requirement for parental consent for a court or love marriage based on the fundamental right to freedom of marriage under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On a relevant keyword search regarding the claim made in the post, we found that the Supreme Court of India has not given any such verdict. While searching for related judgments, we came across recent suggestions by the Gujarat government to be included in Gujarat’s Freedom of Religion Amendment Act, 2021. The proposal recommends making it obligatory for couples to obtain parental approval for love and court marriages. However, the Gujarat High Court stayed certain contentious sections of the Act and its order was challenged in the Supreme Court, where it is pending (here and here).
Subsequent research on the Supreme Court’s judgments on the right to marriage found that in India, the Supreme Court has consistently held that there is no legal requirement for parental consent for a court or love marriage based on the fundamental right to freedom of marriage under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
For instance, in the ruling of the nine-judge bench in the case of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs. Union of India in 2012, the Supreme Court emphasized that an individual’s autonomy, particularly concerning matters of family and marriage, is deemed essential to the dignity of the individual. Shafin Jahan vs. Asokan K. M. & Ors. is a significant legal case in India that gained attention in the context of inter-faith marriages and the right to choose a life partner freely. The court in 2018 held that the right to marry a person of one’s choice is integral to the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. In Laxmibai Chandaragi vs. the state of Karnataka in 2020, the Supreme Court held that the right or choice to marry should not yield to the notions of “class honour” or “group thinking” and the consent of the family or the community or the clan is not necessary once two adult individuals agree to enter into a marriage.
To sum up, the Supreme Court has not given any verdict mandating parental approval for court or love marriages.

created: November 22, 2023


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ఉదయనిధి స్టాలిన్ సనాతన ధర్మంపై చేసిన వ్యాఖ్యల గురించి సుప్రీంకోర్టు ఇంకా తుది తీర్పును ఇవ్వలేదు. - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 6, 2023
డీఎంకే నాయకుడు ఉదయనిధి స్టాలిన్ సనాతన ధర్మంపై చేసిన వ్యాఖ్యలపై వేసిన అన్ని రకాల పిటిషన్లను సుప్రీంకోర్టు కొట్టివేసింది అంటూ ఒక పోస్టును సోషల్ మీడియాలో షేర్ చేస్తున్నారు. ఇందులో ఎంత వాస్తవముందో ఇప్పుడు చూద్దాం.
క్లెయిమ్: ఉదయనిధి స్టాలిన్ సనాతన ధర్మంపై చేసిన వ్యాఖ్యలపై వేసిన అన్ని రకాల పిటిషన్లను సుప్రీంకోర్టు కొట్టివేసింది.
ఫాక్ట్(నిజం):  ఈ పిటిషన్‌పై సుప్రీంకోర్టు ఎటువంటి తీర్పు ఇంకా ఇవ్వలేదు, ఇప్పటికే పెండింగ్‌లో ఉన్న అంశాన్ని ట్యాగ్ చేస్తూ తీర్పును పెండింగ్‌లో ఉంచింది. కావున, ఈ పోస్టులో చేసిన క్లెయిమ్ తప్పుదోవ పట్టించే విధంగా ఉంది.
ఈ క్లెయిమ్ గురించి కీ వర్డ్స్ ఉపయోగించి ఇంటర్నెట్లో వెతకగా, డీఎంకే నాయకుడు ఉదయనిధి స్టాలిన్, సనాతన ధర్మం గురించి చేసిన వ్యాఖ్యలకు సంబంధించిన ఆర్టికల్స్ ద్వారా (ఇక్కడ మరియు ఇక్కడ) ఈ కేసును 27 సెప్టెంబర్ 2023న సుప్రీంకోర్టులో  వాదనలకు  వచ్చింది అని తెలిసింది. అయితే, ఈ కేసు స్టేటస్ ఇంకా పెండింగ్‌లో ఉంది, ఫైనల్ తీర్పు సుప్రీంకోర్టు ఇంకా ఇవ్వలేదు.
సుప్రీంకోర్టు తీర్పు గురించి మరింత పరిశీలించగా, జస్టిస్ అనిరుద్ధ బోస్ నేతృత్వంలోని జస్టిస్ బేల ఎం. త్రివేదితో కూడిన ధర్మాసనం ఈ పిటిషన్‌పై ఎటువంటి నోటీసు ఇవ్వలేదు కానీ ఇప్పటికే పెండింగ్‌లో ఉన్న అంశాన్ని ట్యాగ్ చేసారు అని తెలిసింది.
లీగల్ ప్రొసీడింగ్‌ల సందర్భంలో, “ప్లీను ట్యాగ్ చేయడం” అంటే కోర్టు ఒక చట్టపరమైన అభ్యర్థన లేదా పిటిషన్‌ను దానికి సంబంధిత పిటిషన్ లేదా కేసుతో లింక్ చేయడం అని అర్థం. రెండు లేదా అంతకంటే ఎక్కువ కేసులు లేదా పిటిషన్‌లు సాధారణ సమస్యలు, వాస్తవాలు లేదా చట్టపరమైన ప్రశ్నలను పంచుకున్నప్పుడు, చట్టపరమైన ప్రక్రియను క్రమబద్ధీకరించడానికి వాటిని కలిపి “ట్యాగ్” చేయాలని కోర్టు నిర్ణయించవచ్చు.
చివరిగా, ఉదయనిధి స్టాలిన్ సనాతన ధర్మం పై చేసిన వ్యాఖ్యల గురించి సుప్రీంకోర్టుఇంకా తుది తీర్పును ఇవ్వలేదు.

created: October 6, 2023


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The Supreme Court of India has not ordered that ‘India’ should be called ‘Bharat’ in all languages - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 8, 2020
A message saying that the Supreme Court of India (SCI) has ordered that ‘India’ should be called ‘Bharat’ in all languages from 15 June is shared on social media. But, FACTLY has found that SCI has not pronounced any such judgement. Recently, when a plea to change India’s name exclusively to ‘Bharat’ was taken up for hearing, the SCI disposed of the petition and said that appropriate ministries can consider it as a representation. In a virtual court hearing, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde orally said ‘Bharat and India are both names given in the Constitution. India is already called ‘Bharat’ in the Constitution’.
Sources:
Claim –
1. Facebook post (Archived)
Fact –
1. Supreme Court of India (SCI) Judgement copy – https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2020/4436/4436_2020_31_2_22411_Order_03-Jun-2020.pdf
2. ‘The Hindu’ article – https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-name-plea-can-go-to-centre-as-representation-sc/article31737391.ece
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The sword in this photo does not belong to Maharana Pratap - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 5, 2020
An image of sword and scabbard is being shared widely on Facebook claiming it to be of Indian ruler Maharana Pratap. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Image of sword used by Indian ruler Maharana Pratap.
Fact: The sword in the image does not belong to Indian ruler Maharana Pratap. It belongs to Boabdil (also known as Muhammad XII), the last Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada. So, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search, the same image was found in a WordPress article of ‘Islamic History’. The image in the article had the description that the sword and scabbard belonged to Boabdil (also known as Muhammad XII), the last Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada. The same information about the sword can also be found on ‘Sword-site’, a website that lists historically relevant swords. More search results describing the image to be of the sword of Boabdil can be seen here, here and here.
In an article published by ‘The Economic Times’, it is mentioned that ‘the Rajput king Maharana Pratap used to carry two swords which weighed nearly 25 kilos each. It is said that he would offer one sword to his enemy before a fight if he was unarmed. Currently, the swords are placed in the Maharana Pratap museum in Udaipur, Rajasthan’. Upon looking at the swords of Maharana Pratap kept for display at the Maharana Pratap Museum in Udaipur, the swords used by him were bent at the edges, unlike the sword in the image that is straight.
To sum it up, the sword in the image does not belong to Indian ruler Maharana Pratap. It is Boabdil’s sword.
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The Syrian refugee kid (Alan Kurdi) was not murdered - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 3, 2020
A post with the photo collage of Alan Kurdi (a Syrian refugee kid who along with mother and brother drowned while crossing over to Turkey in 2015) and an image related to the latest Sweden riots is doing rounds on social media with a claim that the kid (Alan Kurdi) was murdered to start fake propaganda in order to push refugees into European countries. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
A toddler (Alan Kurdi) was murdered to start a fake propaganda in order to push refugees into European countries.
Fact: According to news articles,  the men involved in the human trafficking incident which eventually resulted in the sinking of the boat in which Alan Kurdi was present, were sentenced for the crime of “killing with eventual intent” and nowhere in the article it is mentioned that the toddler was murdered. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
According to the news article which is shared in the post in support of the claim, three men who were involved in human trafficking incident back in 2015 which eventually resulted in the sinking of the boat in which Alan Kurdi was present are sentenced to 125 years each in prison. These men are sentenced for the crime of “killing with eventual intent”. However, in the news article, it is nowhere mentioned that the toddler (Alan Kurdi) was murdered. With this, we can certainly say that the toddler was not murdered.
In the light of the latest riots which broke out in the Swedish city of Malmo on 29 August 2020, news related to refugees is being circulated across social media platforms with misleading claims.
To sum it up, the toddler (Alan Kurdi) a Syrian refugee kid was not murdered.
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created: September 3, 2020


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The table showing when the future COVID-19 variants will be ‘released’ is fake - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 2, 2021
Amidst the surge in COVID-19 cases around the world, caused by the highly contagious delta variant, a post with a table indicating when the future strains would be ‘released’ is circulating on social media. Let us now verify the claims in the post.
Claim: A table shows a list of planned COVID-19 variants in Spanish along with the month of release.
Fact: The contents of the chart are fabricated given that the Delta variant was first detected in India in October 2020 and none of the organizations have released any such list. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
As the world continues to battle the surge of the highly infectious delta variant, netizens are questioning the contentious nature of the table of ‘release dates’. A table has surfaced on social media with the list of future COVID-19 variants in Spanish and when they would be first ‘released’. The post has two columns labeled Cepa/variante — the Spanish words for strain/variant — and another titled lanzamiento, which is Spanish for launched. The launch dates of these future COVID-19 variants are listed between 2021 and 2023 for 21 potential COVID-19 variants named after the Greek alphabet.
The right half of the post showcases the logos of John Hopkins University, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Economic Forum, and World Health Organization (WHO). The claim is that these organizations have jointly created this list of future variants and are a part of the bigger COVID-19 conspiracy. However, according to AP News fact-check, “The World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation both responded to Associated Press queries to confirm that the table is fabricated.”
What are the COVID-19 variants?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), viruses constantly transform/diversify through mutation, and through this process, new variants are likely to occur. The analogy that the CDC uses is that if you think of a virus is like a growing tree with branches, these variants are the branches with varying differences. These variants differ in terms of spread, severity, response to medication, the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, among other things. In the light that the strains of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, would keep mutating into different strains, the WHO has decided to name these viral strains after the letters of Greek alphabet (alpha, beta, gamma, etc.). The rationale behind this classification system is because the variants’ scientific names are complicated and using the Greek letters is easier and more practical to be discussed by non-scientific audiences.
From the above table, it is clear that the delta variant was first detected in India in October 2020 and not in June 2021, as claimed in the post. Similarly, Eta appears to have arisen in late 2020, and as of March 2021 has been detected in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. In India, the eta variant was detected in the samples from Aizawl.
As per the post, if we check the dates of ‘launch’, there is a mismatch since the COVID-19 variants such as Eta, Iota, Kappa, and Lambda have already been detected in late 2020 as opposed to the launch dates in the post. Therefore, while the virus is bound to mutate and new strains will surface, the WHO in collaboration with partners, expert networks, national authorities, institutions, and researchers has been monitoring and assessing the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 since January 2020.
There is no evidence as yet to prove that COVID-19 is a conspiracy theory as is being alleged. It is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered coronavirus. It has affected people the world over and there have been more than 4.2 lakh deaths reported in India owing to the diseae. Therefore, it is pertinent to stay informed, wear masks, practice social distancing & vaccinate to prevent and slow down its transmission.
In summary, the table is a fabrication and there is link between. thetable and the organizations listed. Given the nature of the viruses, mutations will occur and more virus strains will surface but these are unpredictable and are continuously monitored by the WHO.

created: August 2, 2021


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The Telangana government has built places of worship all three major religions, within the premises of the new secretariat - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 4, 2023
A video featuring Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao addressing the public during the opening ceremony of a recently constructed mosque at the state secretariat is currently circulating widely across social media platforms. The video is being shared with a communal claim, suggesting that the government is favouring Islam over other religions by building a mosque in the secretariat premises. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Telangana Chief Minister KCR, inaugurated a Mosque at the state secretariat, ignoring other religions.
Fact: The Telangana state government has not just built a Mosque, but also a Church and a Temple within the premises of the new secretariat. This contradicts the viral claim that the state government is favouring a particular religion, ignoring others. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The viral footage does depict the state’s Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), participating in the inauguration of a recently constructed mosque within the state secretariat’s premises. However, contrary to the claim circulated in the viral post, the government has not only built a mosque but has also constructed a temple and a church.
On 25 August 2023, with Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan as the chief guest, Chief Minister KCR officially opened the places of worship for the major religions – a temple, a mosque, and a church – all situated within the new secretariat premises.
Previously, two mosques and a temple were demolished as part of the old secretariat buildings’ demolition process. In response to this, the chief minister committed to reconstructing these places of worship on larger sites and with the financial support of the government.
Visuals of the chief minister taking part in the inauguration of the places of worship along with the governor can be viewed here and here. Thus, from these, it is evident that the state government has not only built a mosque but also a church and a temple.
To sum it up, the Telangana government has built places of worship representing all three major religions, within the premises of the new secretariat.

created: September 4, 2023


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The temple in this photo is not the only remaining Lord Shiva temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 28, 2022
A photo is being widely shared on social media with a claim that it shows Hindus worshipping in the only remaining Lord Shiva temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan). Also, it is being claimed that the Hindus must wear skull caps if they have to worship in that temple. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo shows Hindus worshipping in the only remaining Lord Shiva temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan). Also, the Hindus must wear skull caps to worship in that temple.
Fact: The photo shows Hindus (Zahid Kumar and his sons) worshipping in the Goraknath Temple (Peshawar – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). However, the Goraknath Temple is not the only remaining Lord Shiva temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (as claimed in the post). There is another Shiva temple in Mansehra city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Also, not all persons visiting the Goraknath Temple wore skull caps in other visuals related to the temple. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When the posted photo was run through Google Reverse Image Search, the same photo was found in an article published by ‘The Express Tribune’ in 2019. In the article, it can be read – “Zahid Kumar and his two sons take to the historic Goro Goraknath temple in the middle of Peshawar, to spend their day in service…… Pre-independence, the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was home to approximately 50,000 Hindu families. But in the years after partition, the number dropped to only 1,200 in Peshawar as people migrated en masse to the other side of the border. However, for all those who stayed back like Kumar, a sturdy man of 35, the city of Peshawar became a haven where they could continue to enjoy religious freedom and live peacefully alongside the Muslims.” So, the photo shows Hindus (Zahid Kumar and his  sons) worshipping in the Goraknath Temple (Peshawar – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).
However, the Goraknath Temple is not the only remaining Lord Shiva temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (as claimed in the post). There is another Shiva temple in Mansehra city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. More details regarding that temple can be found here and here.
Also, the Shivratri celebrations are held at Dargah Pir Ratan Nath (Peshawar – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), which is dedicated to the Lord Shiva.
Not all persons visiting the Goraknath Temple wore skull caps in other visuals related to the temple. Zahid Kumar posted other photos of the temple in 2017. In those photos, people with no head covering and some people just covering their heads with a cloth can be seen. Other posts of Zahid Kumar related to the temple can be seen here and here.
The temple manager speaking about the festivities at the temple can be seen here. More visuals (of devotees without the skull caps) and information about the temple can be found here, here, here, here, and here.
To sum it up, the temple in the posted photo is not the only remaining Lord Shiva temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Also, all devotees do not wear skull caps while worshipping in that temple.


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The terrorist seen with BSF jawans in the image hasn’t revealed that he was sponsored by RSS - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 30, 2020
A post with a photo and a message is being widely shared on Facebook. The photo shows a person arrested by two army jawans and the message claims that the person is a terrorist and was caught in Kashmir. And during his investigation, he had revealed that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sponsored him weapons and funds to kill Hindus, so as to instil hatred against Muslims in the minds of Hindus. Let’s analyze the claim made in the post.
The terrorist with BSF jawans in the image confessed that RSS sponsored him weapons and funds to kill Hindus.
Fact: The man arrested is Abdul Qayum, an activist of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He was arrested in 2016 when he tried to cross the International Border at Pragwal Sector of Akhnoor area (Jammu district). During investigation by officials, he hasn’t revealed that RSS had sponsored him weapons and funds for his activities. So, the claim is FALSE.
On a simple reverse image search, a news report of ‘DNA’ with the same image was found. From the article, it was found that BSF troops have arrested Abdul Qayum, an activist of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), when he tried to cross the International Border at Pragwal Sector of Akhnoor area of Jammu district. Also, upon interrogation by the BSF sleuths, Qayum revealed that he underwent militant training with LeT outfit at Mansera training camp in Muzaffarabad (PoK). But, in the article, there was no mention of Qayum confessing about links with the RSS. The same can also be found in another news report, which can read here. So, in the investigation, Qayum confessed about his links with LeT, not RSS.
To sum it up, the terrorist seen with BSF jawans in the image hasn’t revealed that he was sponsored by RSS.
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created: January 30, 2020


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The total lending by the World Bank to India during 2014-19 is ‘$ 21,750 million’, not ‘Zero’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 5, 2019
A post is being shared on Facebook with a claim that while the Manmohan Singh government has taken a large amount of loan from the World Bank, the Modi government is running the country without taking any loans. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post.
Modi government did not take any loans from the World Bank.
Fact: On the World Bank website, it can be found that an amount of $ 21,750 million was lent to India, under different categories, by the World Bank’s IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and IDA (International Development Association) for the period 2014 – 2019. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When searched on the World Bank website about the loans taken by India, it can be found that an amount of $ 21,750 million was lent to India, under different categories for different central and state projects across India, by the World Bank’s IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and IDA (International Development Association) for the period 2014 – 2019.  Also, the year-wise break-up of the total lending for the period 2014-19 can be seen here. It is not true that the Modi government has taken zero loans from the World Bank.
On the World Bank website, it can also be found that a loan agreement of $400 million US$ was signed between the World Bank and the Government of India for the Program Towards Elimination of Tuberculosis in June-2019.
To sum it up, the total lending by the World Bank to India during 2014-19 is ‘ $ 21,750 million’, not ‘Zero’.
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created: September 5, 2019


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The tractor driver who ran over a Cow in this video from Bilaspur is not a Muslim - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 10, 2021
A video accompanying a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that a pregnant cow was killed by a Muslim driving a tractor. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a Muslim tractor driver killing a pregnant cow.
Fact: News articles and the FIR copy related to the incident in Sarkanda police station area of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, confirm that the name of the tractor owner is Sonu Yadav, and the name of the tractor driver is Ishwar Dhruv. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When reverse image search was done on the screenshots of the video, a news article published by ‘News18’ was found in the results. This article was published on 07 June 2021, and says that a drunkard killed a cow by crushing it with a tractor in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. Sarkanda Police has arrested the killer accused within a few hours. The name of the tractor owner is Sonu Yadav and the name of the tractor driver is Ishwar Dhruv. This entire incident happened in the Sarkanda police station area of Bilaspur and has been recorded in a nearby CCTV, according to the news article. According to an ETV Bharat news article, the tractor deliberately crushed a pregnant cow sitting on the road and it died on the spot.
Taking a cue from the news articles that this incident happened in Sarkanda police station area, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, we found the FIR copy of the incident online which can be seen here. The FIR also confirms that the name of the accused is ‘Ishwar Dhruv’.
To sum it up, the tractor driver who ran over a cow in this video in Bilaspur is falsely given a Muslim identity.


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The traffic accident shown in this video took place three hours before the recent earthquake in the Duzce Province of Turkey - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 1, 2022
In the wake of an intense earthquake of 5.9 magnitude hitting northwest Turkey on 23 November 2022, a video is being shared on social media claiming it as the devastating visuals of a road accident that occurred during the earthquake in the Duzce Province of Turkey. The video shows the collision of several cars on a highway. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of a road accident caused by the recent earthquake in northwest Turkey.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows the visuals of a traffic accident involving 12 vehicles at the Mecidiyeköy location in the Sisli district of Istanbul, Turkey. The incident took place at 1:20 am on 23 November 2022, on the D-100 highway in Mecidiyeköy. But, the earthquake of magnitude 5.9 shook the Duzce Province at 4:08 am on the same day. The accident shown in the video took place three hours prior to the earthquake that took place in the Duzce Province of northwest Turkey. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, similar visuals are found in a video published by the ‘Ihlas News Agency’ on 23 November 2022. This news channel reported it as the visuals of a traffic accident that took place on the E-5 Highway (a sub-section of the international D-100 highway) in the Mecidiyekoy section of the Sisli district in Istanbul, Turkey.
Reporting the details of the accident, several news websites published articles on 23 November 2022. They can be seen here, here and here. As per these reports, a driver moving rapidly in the direction of Ankara in the Mecidiyeköy location, crashed into a commercial taxi, causing a chain accident at 1:20 am on 23 November 2022. A total of 8 people, including a baby, were reportedly injured in this chain traffic accident.
On 23 November 2022, an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 hit the Duzce Province of northwest Turkey. Several buildings were found damaged and at least 50 people were reportedly injured during the earthquake. Turkey Police Service in a tweet confirmed that an earthquake of 5.9 magnitude hit the Duzce Province at 4:08 am on 23 November 2022. This indicates that the chain traffic accident shown in the post took place around three hours before the earthquake hit the Duzce Province.
To sum it up, the chain traffic accident shown in this video took place three hours before the earthquake in the Duzce Province of Turkey.


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The ‘Training/Awareness EVM’ sticker can be seen on the EVMs caught in Varanasi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 16, 2024
Update (16 May 2024): The same video has been widely circulated, claiming that it shows a vehicle with polled EVMs caught in Varanasi during the 2024 General elections. However, as debunked in the article, the video is from 2022, during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The CEO of Uttar Pradesh and the Varanasi DM have clarified that the EVMs being taken in the vehicle were for training purposes.
Published (09 March 2022):
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that a vehicle with EVMs was caught in Varanasi. It is also being claimed that the administration intended to change the polled EVMs. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: A vehicle with polled EVMs was caught in Varanasi.
Fact: The ‘Training/Awareness EVM’ sticker can be seen on the EVMs caught in Varanasi. Also, the CEO Office (Uttar Pradesh) and Varanasi DM have given a clarification saying that the EVMs being taken in the vehicle were for training purposes. However, multiple people have questioned why no information was given to the candidates regarding the movement of EVMs as per the guidelines and why such training was scheduled just 36 hours before the counting.
On looking at other longer-duration videos of the same incident, we found that the EVMs caught in the incident have the sticker as ‘Training/Awareness EVM’. In the ‘Manual on Electronic Voting Machine And VVPAT’ (2020) document, under the chapter – ‘TRAINING AND AWARENESS’, it can be read that – “Affix Yellow Colour Sticker mentioning “Training/Awareness” on such EVMs and VVPATs“
The CEO Office (Uttar Pradesh) and Varanasi DM have given a clarification regarding the incident saying the EVMs being taken in the vehicle were for training purposes.
Later a huge crowd gathered. All officers came here, they tried to explain to them but due to the crowd now all candidates and chiefs of political parties have been called for their satisfaction that the EVMs that were being taken, were for training purpose only: Varanasi DM pic.twitter.com/hRQH5tmun8
The Indian Express has reported Akhilesh Yadav saying – “If the EVMs were being transported for training, why weren’t the candidates informed? I have known this DM since he was posted in Muzaffarnagar. He is letting things happen. He will say what the party (BJP) wants him to say”. According to the ‘Manual on Electronic Voting Machine And VVPAT’ (2019) document, “(iii) Political Parties should necessarily be invited to witness this process from the opening of Warehouse and re-sealing of the warehouse after taking out the EVMs/VVPATs for training and awareness. The entire process is to be videographed. (iv) The list of such EVMs and VVPATs shall be given to the National and State Recognised Political Parties. This list shall also be shared with the candidates/their agents, as and when they are finalised. (v) Schedule of Awareness/Training shall be shared with Recognised National/State Political Parties.” More details regarding the handling of Training/Awareness EVMs can be seen in the document.
Also, the ‘NDTV’ has reported that Varanasi’s Commissioner Deepak Agarwal said – “If you talk about the protocol for the movement of EVMs, there was a lapse in the protocol, I accept that. But I can guarantee you, it is impossible to take away machines used in voting”.  The video showing Varanasi Commissioner making those comments can be seen in a tweet made by the Samajwadi Party.
EVM मूवमेंट में चुनाव आयोग के  प्रोटोकॉल का पालन नहीं किया गया- कमिश्नर वाराणसी
कई जिलों में ईवीएम में हेरा-फेरी की जानकारी प्राप्त हो रही है। ये किसके इशारे पर हो रहा है? क्या अधिकारियों पर सीएम ऑफिस से दबाव बनाया जा रहा है?
चुनाव आयोग कृपया स्पष्ट करे @ECISVEEP @ceoup pic.twitter.com/D71xr8h8Tu
Some have also questioned why such training was scheduled just 36 hours before the counting. Those tweets can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, the EVMs caught in Varanasi are reportedly not polled EVMs. The officials said that they were being taken for training purposes.
Update (11 MARCH  2022):
Several social media users are also sharing a post claiming that the Election Commission has removed the District Magistrate and the Police Commissioner of Varanasi from their posts. However, there are no such reports. The ‘ANI’ has reported that the “ECI has suspended ADM Varanasi”. Also, the ‘ABP News’ has quoted Varanasi District Election Officer Kaushal Raj Sharma saying – “EVM in-charge, Additional District Magistrate Nalini Kant Singh was released from election work with immediate effect late night on March 8 for negligence in EVM transportation”. District Magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma can be seen talking to the media on the counting day about the arrangements made in Varanasi. So, the DM and the Police Commissioner of Varanasi were not removed from their posts.


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The Transparency Watchdog unwilling to be transparent in its functioning
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 25, 2017
In March 2016, the CIC agreed to maintaining a daily order sheet within 6 months. There has been no progress since. Moreover, the CIC argued before the Delhi High Court recently that a daily order sheet is not needed. The transparency watchdog is unwilling to be transparent in its own functioning.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) that is setup to be the watchdog in the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) act is unwilling to be transparent in its own functioning. This became evident by its recent submission made during the hearing of a case in the Delhi High Court.
The Background
The issue goes back to a writ petition (WP(C) 3550/2013) filed by Mr. R K Jain in the Delhi High Court in 2013 alleging that the CIC agreed on something during the hearing of an appeal (including those held via a video conference) and concluded something else when the final order came out. He cited one of his cases as an example where the finding and the conclusion arrived at by the CIC was contrary to what had been conveyed during the hearing of the appeal. He urged the court to issue directions to the CIC to maintain a record of the proceedings.
The court issued directions in 2016
In March 2016, the court stated that the CIC’s records must reflect the true and correct state of affairs and cited an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing the State Information Commission to maintain daily order sheets. During the hearing, the CIC’s counsel also stated that it was willing to maintain daily order sheets, but sought some time to evolve a procedure. In is then the court gave CIC, six months to start maintaining daily order sheets.
‘What is a daily order sheet? – CIC’s strange question’
In January 2017, RTI activist C J Karira filed an application with the CIC requesting copies of the daily order sheets being maintained by the CIC following the Delhi High Court directions in March 2016.In its response, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the CIC stated that the information requested is not clear while the application was very clear and sought daily order sheets.  It has to be noted that the CIC filed a proforma of daily sheet in the Delhi High Court in December 2016.After that, the CIC did share a proforma of the daily sheet to Mr Karira. While they shared a proforma, the CIC hasn’t implemented the directions of the court in maintaining a daily order sheet.Delhi High Court rules that the CIC has to maintain the daily order sheet
When the case came up for hearing recently recently, for compliance of its earlier orders, the CIC’s counsel argued that there was no requirement of maintaining daily orders since most of the cases are decided in a single hearing. The court found this argument unacceptable and maintained that the functioning of the CIC must be transparent. In its order, the court directed the CIC to upload the daily order sheet for every appeal/complaint hearing within 3 days from the date of hearing. The court also mentioned that the CIC had agreed to maintaining the daily order sheets in March 2016.
What does the CIC want to hide?
There have been multiple complaints about CIC’s order containing a conclusion that is contrary to what had been conveyed during the hearing. There have also been complaints about undue delay in delivering the final judgment after the hearing. As the watchdog of the RTI act, the CIC should be at the forefront of championing the cause of transparency. But for some strange reason, it wants to shy away from transparency in its own functioning. What does it want to hide?
Featured Image: Central Information Commission

created: September 25, 2017


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The tree seen in this viral pic is not Tulasi - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 25, 2022
An image of a tree is being widely shared claiming it as a tulasi tree grown in Karnataka’s Biligiri Rangana betta (BR hills). Sharing the same image, but ascribing it to different locations, other users claimed that it as the tallest tulasi tree. Let’s verify the claim made in this post.
Claim: Image of a tall tulasi tree.
Fact: According to the Britannica, tulasi is a shrub and shrubs grow usually upto a height of 300 cm. However, a tulasi plant grown by a Kerala man measured 340 cm and tallest Basil plant grown by a Greece resident measured 334 cm. But these tall plants do not have strong and woody stems like that of the viral tree image. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE
We ran a reverse image search and found that the same photo has been going viral on social media platforms since 2019 with similar claims. Most people claim that it is a tulsi tree from Karnataka’s BR hills. Others claim that the tree is in Mathura and Vrindavan.
We tried to identify the tree in the viral post using various image verification methods but couldn’t find the original source. So, we searched the internet to know more details about tulasi plant. According to Britannica, holy basil, (Ocimum tenuiflorum), also called tulasi, flowering plant of the mint family (Lamiaceae) grown for its aromatic leaves. The plant is small perennial shrub and grows up to 100 cm. It is considered holy by Hindus and prayed to.
Also, according to Britannica, shrub is any woody plant that has several stems, none dominant, and is usually less than 3 m (10 feet) tall. Taking cue from this we searched for the tallest tulasi or holy basil plants in India and around the world. According to Guinness book of world records website, as on 04 July 2012, Anastasia Grigoraki of Greece holds the world record for growing tallest Basil plant in the world. It measured 334 cm. Even though basil plant is different from tulasi, both belong to the same family Lamiaceae.
Also, according to the India book of records website, The record for growing the tallest tulasi plant in the pot using only organic fertilisers was set by P.S. Sai Vikas of Bengaluru. It measured 157.48 cm
On 16 August 2020, Malayali Newspaper Mathrubhumi also reported about a man growing a 340 cm tall tulasi plant in Ernakulam.
Also, one can see that the tree in the viral image has strong and hard wooden stem. But shrubs like tulasi, even the tallest, do not have strong wooden stems as seen from the pics. By comparing the images, it is evident that the tree shown in the viral post is not tulasi.
To sum it up, image of an unknown tree is being shared as that of the tallest Tulasi plant.


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The tweet about Indian Media by Joe Biden is from a parody account - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 11, 2020
A screenshot of a tweet purportedly made by the US President-elect  Joe Biden is being widely shared on social media. In the tweet, Joe Biden claims that the Indian Media always presents Indian PM Narendra Modi’s lies as a masterstroke. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Joe Biden’s tweet mocking Indian Media.
Fact: The tweet is made from the fan page (parody) account of US President-elect  Joe Biden. Joe Biden hasn’t commented on Narendra Modi or Indian Media in any of his social media handles recently. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On searching for the tweet in the post on the official Twitter account of Joe Biden, we couldn’t find any such tweet.  Joe Biden hasn’t made any comments on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian media in the recent past after getting the required majority to be the 46 US President. On observing carefully, it is found that the user id (@CrypticMiind) visible on the tweet shared in the post is different from the user id (@JoeBiden) of Joe Biden’s official Twitter handle. The account which posted this tweet was suspended temporarily by Twitter.
To sum it up, this tweet about Indian Media is posted from a fan page(parody) account of Joe Biden.

created: November 11, 2020