Nitin Gadkari Moves Bombay High Court Against AI Deepfakes, Seeks ₹11 Crore Damages

July 28, 2026 : Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has approached the Bombay High Court seeking directions against Meta, X, Google, YouTube and government authorities for the removal of allegedly defamatory social media posts and AI-generated deepfake content linking him and his family to the Centre’s E20 ethanol-blending programme and allegations of corruption.

The civil suit, listed before Justice Arif Doctor, has been filed against Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X, Google/YouTube, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), and unidentified individuals described as “Ashok Kumar/John Doe.”

Gadkari has sought permanent and mandatory injunctions directing the removal of manipulated videos, images, reels and social media posts that allegedly misuse his name, image, voice and likeness to falsely portray him as being responsible for the E20 ethanol-blending programme and to suggest that his family received undue financial benefits from the policy.

In his plea, the Union Minister has asserted that he had no role in formulating or implementing the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) or the E20 initiative, maintaining that the policy falls exclusively under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and not the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The suit also rejects allegations that his son benefited from the E20 programme through an ethanol manufacturing company, contending that the viral content falsely accuses him of corruption, conflict of interest and abuse of public office.

While clarifying that he is not seeking to curb fair criticism of government policies, Gadkari has argued that the disputed content goes far beyond legitimate political criticism and includes abusive language, fabricated quotations, face-swap videos and AI-generated deepfakes that violate his reputation and personality rights.

The minister has sought damages of ₹11 crore and requested the court to direct the removal of 26 identified links containing the allegedly defamatory content.