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Delhi HC issues notice to Dipke, others over 'AI-morphed photo' of woman next to PM Modi, orders takedown
The court further directed the Delhi Police to provide complete protection to the woman.
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The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices to Cockroach Janta Party convenor Abhijeet Dipke, and spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, in a plea filed by a woman alleging that her morphed images with Prime Minister Narendra Modi were circulated during CJP protests.
The high court further directed Meta to remove the alleged objectionable content from social media platforms managed by it, after receiving relevant web links of the images.
“This is extraordinary position in which the matter is not of one lady; it is a matter about the Prime Minister of the country. I will make sure that the Delhi Police is sensitive,” Justice Girish Kathpalia stated, according to Bar and Bench.
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The high court directed the Delhi Police to provide complete protection to the woman, who had alleged receiving threats following the circulation of the images, ANI news agency reported. The court instructed that the petitioner's address must be kept confidential, and be conveyed only to concerned police officials to ensure her safety.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on October 14.
What did the woman's petition say?
In her petition, the woman had accused the CJP leaders of morphing and circulating her deepfake images. The plea sought to take down the fabricated pictures purportedly showing the woman's morphed face alongside the Prime Minister.
“During recent protests held by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, respondents No. 2 to 5 (CJP leaders) along with their active accomplices-unauthorisedly harvested the personal photograph of the petitioner and utilised Artificial Intelligence (AI) face-swapping tools to morph her face…” the plea stated, according to PTI news agency.
The woman was being represented by advocate Umesh Chandra Sharma, who said that an FIR has already been registered in this regard, but no concrete steps were taken to fix accountability or to ensure the removal of the viral deepfakes.
FIR registered, court agreed to urgently hear plea
An FIR in connection with the matter has already been registered, with the complainant, a content creator, alleging she was in "absolute distress, fear, and trauma" due to the photograph which she claimed was generated by “specific organisers and key functionaries of the CJP protest.”
In her complaint, she named CJP spokespersons Abhijeet Dipke, Ratna Singh and Saurav Das among others, and alleged her photos were used both online and at the site. To be sure, the FIR at cyber police station in New Delhi district was registered against unknown persons under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act.
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“During the recent CJP protests at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, certain delinquent demonstrators and organisers unauthorisedly harvested my personal photograph. Using digital manipulation and Al face-swapping tools, they morphed my face directly onto an image alongside the Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, fabricating a completely false, compromising, and sensationalized picture,” the FIR accessed by HT stated.
The high court had on Thursday agreed to hear the woman's criminal writ petition seeking the removal of the content urgently.
