FIR against Prashant Bhushan over alleged morphed Lavrov video on India
An FIR has been registered against senior advocate Prashant Bhushan for sharing a video that purportedly showed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticising India over its internal affairs and oil purchases. The complaint follows a fact-check by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which said the clip was fabricated, and a denial by the Russian Embassy, which disputed its authenticity.
The video had been posted on social media with the caption: “a tight slap by the Russian foreign minister on India. What kind of advice was Jaishankar giving to Russia?” The clip purported to show Lavrov commenting on India’s domestic matters and its purchases of Russian oil. The FIR does not by itself establish guilt, and Bhushan has not been convicted in the matter.
The controversy comes amid diplomatic engagements between India and Russia. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Jaishankar shared a photograph of the meeting on X and said: “Discussed the Ukraine conflict, Gulf situation and multilateral issues with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia.”
At the MEA’s bi-weekly press briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Jaishankar had held several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G20 gathering, including one with his Russian counterpart. The meeting covered the Ukraine conflict, the situation in the Gulf and wider multilateral issues, he said.
The interaction took place against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and heightened tensions in West Asia. These developments have raised concerns over energy security, maritime trade routes and regional stability. India has continued to engage with Russia through high-level diplomatic meetings despite differences between Moscow and Western capitals over the Ukraine conflict.
New Delhi has consistently maintained that dialogue and diplomacy are essential to resolving international disputes. At the G20 gathering, Jaishankar also emphasised the importance of diplomatic engagement over military action, maintaining that military solutions alone cannot resolve complex global challenges.
India and Russia have maintained regular high-level contacts despite the war in Ukraine. New Delhi has not joined Western sanctions and has defended its oil purchases as a matter of energy security. It has also called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue. The Jaishankar-Lavrov meeting was part of that continuing engagement, reflecting India’s emphasis on strategic autonomy in foreign policy.
The MEA’s clarification was issued after the Russian Embassy described the video as inauthentic. The sequence of statements — from the embassy, the MEA and then the FIR — indicates the seriousness with which officials have treated the spread of the clip. The case relates to a social media post, and the FIR is a procedural step in the criminal justice process. Under Indian law, an FIR sets in motion an investigation; it is not a judicial finding of guilt. Officials have not released further details about the investigation, and legal proceedings will determine the next steps.
