Bombay HC orders takedown of deepfake posts on Gadkari

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, ordered social media platforms to remove what it described as "vile and abusive" deepfake and defamatory content targeting Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. The court granted interim relief to Gadkari, who filed a suit alleging the content falsely linked him and his family to financial benefits from the government's E20 ethanol-blending program.

Justice Arif Doctor, presiding over a single-judge bench, directed platforms including Meta, X, Google, and YouTube to take down the specified material immediately. The court noted that Meta and Google had already appeared and agreed to comply with the takedown order. In its observations, the bench stated such material has no place on public platforms accessible to everyone, including young people.

Gadkari's lawsuit, filed against the social media companies, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Department of Telecommunications, and unidentified users, sought permanent injunctions and 11 crore rupees in damages. The petition argued that a series of posts, reels, and AI-generated videos falsely portrayed him as personally...