The Bombay High Court has granted interim relief to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in a lawsuit aimed at removing defamatory and deepfake content that inaccurately associates him and his family with the government’s E20 ethanol-blending initiative. The case, identified as Nitin Gadkari v. Meta Platforms Inc & Ors., was presided over by Justice Arif Doctor, who instructed social media platforms and intermediaries to eliminate harmful content targeting Gadkari.
The lawsuit, initiated by Gadkari, named several parties including Meta, X, Google/YouTube, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Department of Telecommunications, and unnamed individuals referred to as “Ashok Kumar/John Doe.” The court recognized the content highlighted by Gadkari as offensive and derogatory. Justice Doctor remarked, “One such transcript appears on an Instagram reel. There are other content pieces. The material which the plaintiff seeks to remove, I can only describe as absolutely vile and abusive. Such material should have no place on a public platform, which is accessible to everyone, including young users. The applicant has made out a case for ad interim relief. Meta and Google have agreed to take down the material set out in exhibit C. Their statement is accepted.”
The hearing is scheduled to continue in four weeks. Gadkari is pursuing a permanent and mandatory injunction for the removal of purportedly manipulated videos and images, described in the complaint as AI-generated “defamatory content” and “deepfake content.” According to the plea, this material falsely attributes personal accountability to Gadkari for the E20 program and insinuates that he and his family have gained undue financial benefits from it.
The petition specifically cites claims suggesting that his son, Nikhil Gadkari, manages CIAN Agro Industries & Infrastructure Limited, a company involved in ethanol production, which allegedly results in an indirect benefit from ethanol blending in petrol. Gadkari has denied these allegations.
The lawsuit is based on a series of posts, reels, and videos that allegedly blame Gadkari for introducing or mandating E20 petrol and for vehicle damage purportedly caused by ethanol blends. The plea asserts that the defamatory content implies corruption, conflict of interest, and misuse of office by suggesting his family has “derived undue pecuniary benefits from E20.” According to the plea, these statements are false and amount to “documentary falsity,” given that official records cited in the suit indicate the program is managed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
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Gadkari emphasized that he does not intend to restrict “fair, just, and bona fide criticism” of policy or his public life. Nonetheless, he argued that the challenged content includes profane and abusive language, along with fabricated quotes and visuals, which he contends fall outside the boundaries of legitimate political criticism or satire. Advocate Sandeep S Ladda represented Gadkari in the proceedings.
