CJP protest: HC orders to take down morphed image of woman, Modi; seeks police report

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered the immediate takedown of a morphed image of a woman alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, directing the Delhi Police to file a report within a week on the action taken in a complaint against the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders for allegedly using this AI-generated image during a protest at Jantar Mantar

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered the immediate takedown of a morphed image of a woman alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, directing the Delhi Police to file a report within a week on the action taken in a complaint against the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders for allegedly using this AI-generated image during a protest at Jantar Mantar.

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A bench of justice Girish Kathpalia said that the case was not just about the woman, but about the country’s Prime Minister, constituting an “extraordinary” position.

“This is an extraordinary position, in which the matter is not of one lady; it is a matter about the Prime Minister of the country. If they are not sensitive, I will ensure that they are sensitive and I believe action will be taken,” the bench stated.

It also directed social media platform Meta to take down the image within 24 hours, and ordered the police to protect the woman who petitioned the court against misuse of her image.

“Keeping in mind the nature of the issue involved, the status report shall be filed in one week, detailing the exact action taken,” the court ordered.

To be sure, on the petitioner’s complaint, the FIR at the cyber police station in New Delhi district was registered against unknown persons under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act.

In her petition, the woman,, through her lawyer Umesh Sharma, sought directions to the police to provide her protection and conduct an expeditious probe into the FIR, to unearth the alleged complete digital trail and secure the electronic device.

This came after Delhi Police counsel told the court the FIR was registered on Thursday and assured it would take appropriate action expeditiously.

In her petition, the woman alleged that the CJP printed physical banners of the morphed picture, paraded them in massive crowds, raised sexually suggestive and derogatory slogans, and maliciously uploaded videos onto Instagram and other social media platforms.

“They further sank to absolute depravity by uploading and distributing the petitioner’s morphed non-consensual explicit photos onto various pornographic websites,” the petition alleged.

She alleged that following the viral dissemination of these deepfake clips, she has been bombarded with explicit messages containing explicit threats of rape, gang-rape, acid attacks, and physical elimination from anonymous accounts.

“The circulation of non-consensual photos across public pornographic portals has exposed the petitioner to global voyeurism, causing catastrophic psychological damage, deep social trauma, and an immediate, terrifying threat to her bodily integrity,” the petition stated.

It said that even after the registration of the FIR, neither have the prime accused been arrested nor have notices been issued to Meta to take down the deepfakes.