The Bombay high court on Wednesday directed Meta, X, Google and other social media platforms to take down defamatory posts and AI-generated deepfake videos allegedly targetting Union minister Nitin Gadkari and his family members over the ethanol-blended petrol (EBP) programme.
The high court also asked the platforms to come up with a framework to take down such content without court intervention every time.
A single-judge bench of Justice Arif Doctor said the content against Gadkari was “vile” and “abusive”. “The material which the 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," he said.
Justice Doctor said if any further abusive material or deepfakes are found, the same shall be communicated to the defendant. “In the event there is a grey area, they will have liberty to move court,” the bench said and posted the matter after four weeks for further hearing.
Gadkari moves Bombay HC
{{/usCountry}}Gadkari moves Bombay HC
{{/usCountry}}Gadkari had approached the court over the posts that claimed he and his family financially benefited from the EBP programme. In his petition, filed through advocate Sandeep S Ladda, the Union minister said the social media posts falsely suggested that he and his family received undue financial benefits from the programme, “insinuating corruption, nepotism, conflict of interest, abuse of official position, misuse of governmental authority and other acts of impropriety.”
Gadkari argued that the content is ex facie false, fabricated, baseless, malicious, misleading, unsubstantiated and devoid of any factual foundation. “It contains abusive and derogatory language, scandalous remarks, false accusations and manipulated audio-visual material intended to falsely attribute statements and conduct to the plaintiff,” he said. The plea added that the defamatory content consists of profane, vulgar and abusive language directed at him and sought ₹11 crore in damages.
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The developments come amid growing backlash over the EBP, introduced to reduce crude oil imports. The programme has been accelerated since 2021, with ethanol produced from sugarcane, rice and maize being blended with petrol. India achieved its target of 20% ethanol blending (E20) five years ahead of its original 2030 deadline.
Motorists have complained that E20 fuel is reducing mileage and causing engine corrosion in older and non-compliant vehicles. Gadkari and the government have rejected such claims, dismissing them as social media misinformation.
Gadkari approached the high court after Bharatiya Janata Party’s Nagpur social media cell convener, Shishir Arun Tripathi, lodged a police complaint last month over videos and posts circulating “baseless and objectionable claims” about the Union minister and E20 fuel that could “mislead the public, confuse citizens and disturb peace”.