The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has approached the Delhi High Court seeking the removal of fake news that several dozen judges participated in a government-sponsored badminton tournament in London earlier this month.

Senior Advocate Apoorv Kurup mentioned the matter before Justice Tejas Karia for urgent listing today. 

Kurup said that the viral fake news that judges allegedly participated in a badminton tournament in London is becoming viral day by day and gives the sport a bad name as well. 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that he had received an advanced copy and that the fake news was multiplying in numbers.

The Court asked the counsel to clear the objections to the petition by 2:30 PM and agreed to list the plea after that.

Viral social media posts recently claimed that around 75 Indian judges, along with the Union ministers and Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, travelled to London to participate in a badminton tournament at taxpayers’ expense.

The claims sparked criticism over judicial independence, public spending and the propriety of judges and government representatives attending a sporting event together while citizens were being urged to follow austerity measures.

However, the government’s fact-checking unit rejected several key allegations. According to PIB Fact Check, claims that Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Arjun Ram Meghwal were in London participating in the event were false and the viral photographs being circulated were actually from a badminton tournament held at Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi in November 2025, not London.