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Informist, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – In an interim injunction order, the Bombay High Court Wednesday directed Meta Platforms Inc., Google India Pvt. Ltd., X Corp., and others to take down deepfakes, artificial intelligence-generated content, and posts falsely portraying Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari as the architect of the government's ethanol-blending policy and accusing him of benefiting financially through his family. "The material which plaintiff seeks to pull down, I can only say that the same is absolutely vile and abusive. Such material should have no place on a public platform, which is accessible to everyone including young," said Justice Arif S. Doctor. 

 

Gadkari has said he had no role in formulating, administering, or implementing the ethanol-blending programme or the E20, or 20% ethanol-blended petrol, initiative, pointing out that the programme falls under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, not the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The materials are falsely linking him and his family to the E20 programme and alleging corruption, he said. The allegations are baseless, contradicted by official government records, and amount to defamation and documentary falsity, he said.

 

Gadkari has sought INR 110 million in damages for alleged violations of his personality rights through abusive social media posts, AI-generated deepfakes, and fabricated content. He has also urged the court to direct permanent and mandatory injunctions for removal of manipulated videos, AI-generated images, face-swap videos, and deepfakes that use his name, face, voice, and mannerisms without consent.

 

The content violates his personality and publicity rights through the unauthorised digital appropriation of his identity, he said. He is not seeking to restrict fair criticism or public debate over government policy, but the disputed material goes beyond legitimate political criticism or satire by using abusive language, fabricated visuals, and false statements targeting his reputation, the minister said.

 

Gadkari denied allegations that a company run by his son Nikhil, which is engaged in the manufacture of ethanol and other products, is getting indirect benefit from the ethanol-blending programme. The allegations of corruption, conflict of interest, and abuse of office by suggesting that his family has derived undue pecuniary benefits from E20 petrol are defamatory and false, he said.

 

The E20 fuel is a government initiative under the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme to retail petrol blended with 20% ethanol. Managed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the project aims to slash crude oil import bills, cut carbon pollution, and channel extra revenue to domestic farmers through conversion of crop waste and grain to ethanol for blending with petrol.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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