Social media user booked over casteist AI video targeting CJI

Panvel police filed an FIR after a lawyer reported an AI-generated video with casteist slurs against Chief Justice Bhushan Gavai, inciting social discord.

NAVI MUMBAI: The Panvel Taluka police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) after a local advocate lodged a complaint alleging circulation of an AI-generated video containing casteist and derogatory references to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Gavai.

Social media user booked over casteist AI video targeting CJI

According to the complainant, advocate Amit Katarnavare, 40, the video — shared on social media — was “highly objectionable” and “intended to insult the dignity of the Chief Justice on caste grounds.” He told police that his mother, Rama Katarnavare, had drawn his attention to the content on October 7, prompting him to approach the police.

“The visuals in the video appeared to symbolically suggest that even if a person from a Scheduled Caste community attains the highest office, they must still face humiliation,” Katarnavare stated in his complaint.

He further alleged that the post was part of a deliberate attempt by the creator and associates to spread caste-based hatred and social discord. “This attempt to revive the language of untouchability through digital means promotes hostility and division in society,” the complaint said.

Police said the video appeared to have surfaced online following an incident in the Supreme Court earlier this week, where a lawyer allegedly attempted to hurl a shoe towards the CJI during court proceedings. The Supreme Court administration had subsequently decided not to pursue legal action, with the Chief Justice advising members of the Bar to treat the matter as closed.

The FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, including sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(u), which pertain to caste-based humiliation and promoting enmity. It also invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, such as sections 3(5) (common intention), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 196 (promoting disharmony between groups), and 351 (criminal intimidation).

“The act amounts to hate speech that seeks to divide society on caste lines and offend the dignity of members of the Scheduled Caste community,” the FIR states.

Police officials said an investigation is underway to identify the social media user and verify the origin of the AI-generated video.