E20 Row: Bombay HC Pulls Up Meta, X, Google Over Deepfake Posts Targeting Nitin Gadkari

A single-judge bench of Justice Arif Doctor directed Meta, X Corp and Google LLC to immediately take down the posts.

Gadkari clarified that the ethanol blending programme is administered entirely by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and not by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Source : ABP Majha

The Bombay High Court has ordered the removal of online deepfake posts targeting Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, describing the content as "obscene, offensive and defamatory". The court has also allowed Gadkari to pursue a civil suit against Meta Platforms, X Corp, Google LLC and unidentified online content creators over the allegedly defamatory and manipulated social media posts.

A single-judge bench of Justice Arif Doctor directed Meta, X Corp and Google LLC to immediately take down the posts. The court observed that such content should not remain accessible online, particularly when it can be viewed by everyone, including young people.

Court questions social media platforms

During the hearing, the bench asked the online platforms whether they had any mechanism to remove such content without requiring court intervention. The High Court said social media companies should proactively identify and remove such posts.

Justice Doctor remarked, "You have advanced technology. Don't you have any system to detect such content? If something obscene or offensive is uploaded, it should be removed immediately. This is extremely objectionable. Someone is spreading poison."

Rs 11 crore damages sought

The case pertains to an AI-generated deepfake video linked to the E20 fuel programme. The video allegedly falsely associated Gadkari and his family with financial gains from the government's E20 ethanol-blended petrol policy.

In his petition, Gadkari clarified that the ethanol blending programme is administered entirely by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and not by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The Union minister approached the High Court seeking immediate removal of the objectionable digital content and claimed Rs 11 crore in damages for the alleged harm caused to his reputation. According to the petition, the legal action is aimed at holding major social media intermediaries accountable for hosting fabricated and defamatory content, rather than restricting legitimate public discussion.