NEW DELHI:
Delhi high court on Thursday reserved orders on the interim relief sought by Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha in his plea alleging misuse of his personality rights through AI-generated deepfakes, morphed visuals and manipulated social media content.
The matter was heard by Justice Subramonium Prasad, who orally observed during the hearing that the content placed before the court appeared to be criticism of a political decision rather than a straightforward case of personality rights violation.
Observing that political leaders have historically been subjected to satire and public criticism, the bench remarked, "From independence, we are seeing RK Laxman cartoons. At that point of time, probably social media had not gone to that extent today it has."
Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Chadha, argued that several posts circulating online were not merely political criticism but defamatory and profane attacks portraying the MP as someone who switched political sides for monetary gain.
Referring to certain images placed before the court, Nayar submitted, "He is shown in a saree. We are seeing PM distributing, showering money."
The bench, however, repeatedly questioned whether criticism aimed at a political leader's public conduct or political choices could be restrained under personality rights law. Nayar argued that the matter also involved reputational harm and defamation.
"They are saying I have gone for money. This can't be fair criticism," he submitted.
During the hearing, Justice Prasad also indicated that the court may appoint an amicus curiae to assist on broader legal questions concerning the balance between free speech and protection of dignity in the age of artificial intelligence and social media.
"There are cases and cases. The line between defamation and criticism is quite thin. It's very easy to see it from the other side, which affects your right to live with dignity. At the same time, Article 19 right can't be taken away," the bench observed.
Counsel appearing for Meta argued that several screenshots relied upon by Chadha were merely newspaper reports and otherwise benign material. After hearing arguments from all sides, the court reserved orders on the application seeking interim relief.
Chadha has approached the Delhi high court seeking protection against alleged misuse of his image, likeness, voice and identity through artificial intelligence and digitally manipulated material circulated online.
His plea seeks directions restraining the creation and dissemination of AI-generated deepfakes, morphed videos, synthetic voice clones, fabricated speeches and other allegedly deceptive content on social media platforms.
The petition states that unauthorised use of his persona through AI tools is capable of misleading the public and damaging his reputation. Chadha, who earlier served as MLA from Delhi's Rajinder Nagar constituency between 2020 and 2022, joined BJP in April 2026 after years with the Aam Aadmi Party.
Speaking after the hearing, Advocate Satatya Anand, appearing in the matter, said that the plea sought immediate removal of allegedly defamatory content circulating online following Raghav Chadha's recent political transition. He said multiple social media platforms and unidentified entities had been named as respondents in the case.
"We are pressing for a stay on the content and removal of the content from the website... There are a lot of defamatory contents due to the political transition which has happened recently. These are orchestrated campaigns being run by several agencies... Meta, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Google, and unknown infringers are the respondents... The order has been reserved, it will be released in due course... The court said that yes it is defamatory but whether it will fall into the domain of personality rights is something which they will be deciding in the interim," Anand said.
The case forms part of a growing line of matters before the Delhi high court concerning personality and publicity rights in the age of artificial intelligence. Public figures including Anil Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan have previously secured protection against unauthorised use of their voices, likenesses and identities through AI-generated content.
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