Bombay HC to Hear Nitin Gadkari’s Plea Against ‘Defamatory’ AI Deepfakes Over E20 Policy

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said it would hear on August 5 a civil suit filed by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC and unidentified individuals over allegedly defamatory deepfakes and AI-generated content circulated online in connection with the ethanol-blended fuel policy.

A bench headed by Justice Arif Doctor directed Gadkari's advocate, Sandeep Ladda, to serve copies of the suit on the respondents. The Union minister has sought a permanent injunction restraining the circulation of the allegedly defamatory posts, besides an immediate takedown of the content.

Gadkari, who serves as the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has claimed that several fake, fabricated and AI-generated posts have been uploaded and shared on social media platforms regarding the ethanol-blending programme and the E20 policy.

According to the plea, unidentified persons allegedly circulated deepfake material portraying Gadkari as personally responsible for the programme and making claims that he and his family had financially benefited from it. The suit described these allegations as false, malicious and defamatory, alleging that they were intended to create a misleading public perception about the minister.

The plea further argued that the circulation of such material had caused irreparable harm to Gadkari's reputation and personality rights.

It also clarified that the ethanol-blending programme and the E20 policy are administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and not by Gadkari in his personal capacity.

While seeking legal protection against the alleged deepfakes, Gadkari's plea maintained that it was not intended to restrict fair public debate or bona fide criticism. However, it argued that fabricated and reckless allegations crossed the limits of lawful speech and warranted judicial intervention.

The matter will next come up before the high court on August 5.