Nitin Gadkari gets Bombay HC nod to sue Meta, Google over E20 petrol deepfakes

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted Union Minister Nitin Gadkari permission to institute a civil defamation suit over the alleged circulation of defamatory and deepfake content targeting him online, according to Bar and Bench.

Gadkari approached the high court under Clause XII of the Letters Patent, a procedural provision that applies when part of the cause of action arises beyond the court's territorial jurisdiction. The provision requires the court's leave to hear a civil suit on its original side despite such jurisdictional constraints.

What happened?

The matter came up for hearing before Justice Abhay Ahuja on Monday, where Advocate Sandeep S. Ladda, appearing for Gadkari, sought the court's permission to institute the civil suit.

Ladda submitted that the allegedly defamatory and deepfake content had been made publicly accessible by the defendants, including to users in Mumbai. As the material could be viewed within the territorial jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court and was intended for public consumption there, a substantial part of the cause of action arose in Mumbai, giving the court jurisdiction to hear the case, he argued.

However, since the same content was also available to users outside Mumbai through online platforms, part of the cause of action extended beyond the high court's territorial jurisdiction. Therefore, leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent was required before the suit could be instituted, Ladda contended.

According to Gadkari's plea, unidentified individuals have circulated social media posts and deepfake content falsely attributing personal responsibility for the E20 programme to him. The suit further alleges that the posts falsely claim that Gadkari and members of his family profited financially from the initiative.

After hearing the brief submissions, Justice Ahuja granted Gadkari permission to file the civil suit.

The order clears the way for Gadkari to file a substantive civil suit on the original side of the Bombay High Court. The proposed case will name Meta, several other social media platforms, and unidentified John Doe entities that allegedly hosted or facilitated the circulation of the disputed content.

The plea states that the allegations are false, malicious and highly defamatory, claiming they are made "without an iota of truth". Gadkari has alleged that the content is intended to create a false public impression that he misused his official position for personal benefit, causing irreparable damage to his reputation and personality rights, the report noted.

In the proposed suit, filed through Ladda, Gadkari has sought permanent and mandatory injunctions against the alleged "defamatory content" and "deep fake content". The suit pertains to social media posts, tweets, reels, videos and other material that allegedly contain profane and abusive language, falsely attribute statements to him, and use AI-generated audio-visuals replicating his name, image, likeness, facial features and voice without his consent.

Gadkari has contended that the material has caused "grave and irreparable" harm to his reputation, goodwill, dignity and public image, while also violating his personality and publicity rights.

The plaint also makes it clear that the legal action is not intended to curb fair public discussion or genuine criticism. It specifically states that there is no restriction on criticism and that fair, good-faith criticism based on true facts and made without malice is not the focus of the suit.

According to the plaint, the dispute concerns not legitimate criticism but what Gadkari describes as reckless and defamatory allegations that have crossed the limits of lawful speech.

The proposed suit names Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X Corp, Google LLC and YouTube among defendants, along with the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications.

Gadkari, who currently serves as the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has stated in his plaint that the ethanol blending programme and the E20 fuel policy fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

E20 petrol in India

E20 petrol, which consists of 20% ethanol and 80% petrol, forms a key component of the Centre's strategy to reduce dependence on crude oil imports, cut emissions, and encourage the use of domestically produced biofuels.

The rollout of E20, however, has raised concerns over its compatibility with older vehicles that were not designed to run on the fuel blend. Critics have reportedly pointed to potential issues such as fuel system corrosion and lower fuel efficiency.

While automobile manufacturers have increasingly launched vehicles compatible with E20, concerns continue over whether models sold before 2023 can safely use the blended fuel.