Bombay HC to Hear Gadkari's Plea Against Meta, X, Google Over Deepfake Posts on August 5
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) announced that it will hear on August 5 the civil suit filed by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC, and unknown persons over allegedly defamatory deepfake and AI-generated posts related to the ethanol policy.
Justice Arif Doctor directed Gadkari's advocate, Sandeep Ladda, to serve copies of the suit to the respondents. The suit seeks a permanent injunction against the circulation of posts that the minister claims have tarnished his reputation.
Gadkari, who serves as the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has alleged that several fake, AI-generated, and defamatory posts are available online concerning the ethanol-blended fuel programme. The posts falsely portray him as personally responsible for the programme and claim that he and his family have financially benefited from it, according to the plea.
The suit states that these allegations have caused irreparable harm to Gadkari's reputation and personality rights. It describes the posts as false, malicious, and grossly defamatory, designed to create a misleading public perception.
Gadkari's plea clarifies that the ethanol-blending programme and E20 policy are administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, not by him personally. It also states that no attempt is being made to stifle fair public debate or bona fide comments, but argues that the reckless and defamatory allegations have crossed the line of lawful speech.
