High Court orders removal of defamatory posts on Gadkari

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, ordered major social media platforms to immediately remove defamatory and AI-generated content falsely linking Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and his family to financial benefits from the government's ethanol-blended petrol policy. Justice Arif Doctor directed Meta, X Corp., and Google to take down the material, which the court found to be "per se defamatory," and to provide details of the individuals who uploaded it.

The order came during a hearing on a civil suit filed by Gadkari against the platforms and unidentified content creators. In his petition, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways argued that the disputed content-comprising deepfake videos, manipulated images, and misleading posts-was fabricated and malicious, aimed at damaging his reputation. He sought 11 crore rupees in damages for the alleged harm.

Gadkari's legal team emphasized that he has no connection to the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) or the specific E20 initiative, which mandates petrol sold in India be blended with 20% ethanol. The petition stated the policy was introduced in 2003 and is entirely administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and...