The Bombay High Court has allowed Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil suit against Meta, Google, X Corp and other entities over the circulation of alleged defamatory and AI-generated deepfake content related to the E20 fuel programme. Justice Abhay Ahuja has granted leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent, enabling Gadkari to institute the suit on the original side of the High Court.
As per media reports, Gadkari has moved the petition under Clause XII of the Letters Patent as part of the procedural requirement since part of the cause of action has arisen outside the Bombay High Court’s territorial jurisdiction. His counsel, Advocate Sandeep S. Ladda, has argued that the alleged defamatory and deepfake content has been made publicly accessible to users in Mumbai through online platforms, establishing jurisdiction for the Court to hear the matter.
The order has allowed Gadkari to proceed with a substantive civil suit against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC, YouTube, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Department of Telecommunications and unidentified “John Doe” entities accused of hosting or enabling the dissemination of the disputed content. A detailed copy of the order is awaited.
Gadkari, who is serving as the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has stated in his suit that the ethanol blending programme and the E20 policy are administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The E20 fuel programme, which involves a blend of 20% ethanol and 80% petrol, has been introduced as part of the government’s strategy to reduce crude oil imports, lower emissions and promote domestically produced biofuels.
The plea has stated that unknown persons have circulated posts and AI-generated deepfake content falsely portraying Gadkari as personally responsible for the E20 fuel programme while alleging that he and his family have financially benefited from it. The suit has described these claims as false, malicious and defamatory, alleging that they have caused irreparable harm to his reputation, goodwill, dignity and personality rights.
The proposed suit has sought permanent and mandatory injunctions against alleged defamatory posts, tweets, reels, videos and other content that have purportedly used AI-manipulated visuals and audio to simulate Gadkari’s name, image, likeness, facial features and voice without consent. The plaint has clarified that the legal action has not sought to restrict fair public criticism or bona fide comment but has challenged what it has described as reckless and defamatory allegations that exceed lawful speech.
