On Monday, 16th September, a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India, Sanjay Hegde, spread fake news saying that Adani Group had admitted to bribing several government shareholders to get government projects. Sanjay Hegde shared a fake letter dated 10th September, indicating that the company would release the names of government shareholders and individuals who have benefited from the company investments and bribes.
“Which idiot in Adani company has drafted this press release? Do you realize that you have just admitted to paying bribes? This release might haunt you in criminal cases hereafter. NEVER PLEAD GUILTY as Rumpole would have said,” Hegde said on X as he shared the fake letter. However, team OpIndia checked the official website of the Adani Group and found that no such press statement has been released by the company on 10th September or on any date for that matter
The fake letter shared by Supreme Court advocate Hegde this morning was titled “Adani denounces baseless accusations and threats.” However, no such letter was found to be officially released by the company.
Netizens, meanwhile, bashed Advocate Hegde for sharing the fake letter after which the Supreme Court advocate deleted the letter. Netizens compared the original press statements by Adani and said that there were several discrepancies in signatures, letter addresses, and logos.
One of the users also highlighted that the letter had been tampered, with the left-top corner where usually the logo of the company is displayed, highlighting that the letter was fake. Others, meanwhile, slammed Hegde for sharing a fake letter. The post was eventually deleted by Hegde.
This comes on the day when Adani Group and an African Development Bank unit have been awarded a public-private partnership concession to build power transmission lines in Kenya. The concession is valued at $1.3 billion.
Have been waiting for a clarification or denial from @AdaniOnline but nothing so far. However many people say the letter is fake. Till the authenticity is confirmed @zoo_bear, I will temporarily delete the original tweet. pic.twitter.com/ylIuhtTFfz
— SANJAY HEGDE (@sanjayuvacha) September 16, 2024
After everyone online called out Sanjay Hegde for the fake news, he said that he won’t believe any facts unless certified by Alt News and Mohammed Zubair.
