Fact check: Old video of district judge schooled by toll manager goes viral

Once a video goes viral, there's no expiry date. More often than not, we see old videos being shared again only to see it go viral, simply for the reasons it went viral the first time. The content should amuse, surprise or shock netizens for it to go viral, and a bit of everything was in this viral video of a district judge arguing over Rs 80 toll plaza fees. But it was the toll manager who won the argument by citing hard facts. Even though the video is going viral again, it is at least six months old.

The claim

Arguments over toll plaza fees aren't uncommon, but it is rare to see a toll manager stand up for what's right and win the argument. A district judge was caught on camera arguing with a toll manager for refusing to pay Rs 80 on the Bareilly and Moradabad toll plaza. The judge was insisting his vehicle be passed without having him pay the toll tax.

The driver reached the toll and submitted what appears to be an ID card of the district judge. When the toll operator saw there was no exemption, he called the supervisor and handed the ID. The supervisor inspected the ID card and said the toll fee needs to be paid before passing. But the judge refused to agree and asked for a manager.

The manager then shows up and records the argument that ensued with the district court judge. Despite the judge's stubbornness, the toll plaza manager cited the law and schooled the judge in a strict tone saying no court is above the law. The judge finally caves in despite not having paid the toll while coming from Madhya Pradesh to Rajasthan, and pays Rs 80. The way the manager handled the incident is being lauded and the video is going viral on social media.

Fact check

International Business Times noticed the viral trend and investigation the incident for its authenticity. While it was confirmed that the incident did happen, we discovered that it happened around six months ago.

In some of the clips shared on Twitter, the time stamp has been cropped out, making many believe that it was a recent incident. However, we found the original CCTV clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in October last year. As per the time stamp, the incident took place on October 5, 2020 at around 8 p.m.

Based on these facts, International Business Times has arrived at the conclusion that the viral video of district judge being schooled by a toll plaza manager is old and is being recirculated.