Bombay High Court Permits Nitin Gadkari To Sue X, Meta,…

On July 27, 2026, the Bombay High Court granted Union Minister Nitin Gadkari permission to initiate a civil lawsuit against X, Meta, and Google regarding the circulation of alleged deepfake content. The legal action seeks the removal of defamatory material that falsely connects the minister to the Ethanol-blended fuel (E20) policy.

What happened

Nitin Gadkari, who has served as the Minister of Road Transport since 2014, filed a petition under clause XII of the Letters Patent to proceed with a suit against the platforms and unknown users. The minister contends that he has no role in the decision-making process for the E20 policy, which is managed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Despite this, unknown individuals created and circulated AI-generated content falsely portraying him as being personally responsible for the implementation of the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP).

The lawsuit identifies at least 24 specific posts containing defamatory and deepfake material. According to the court filing, these posts allege that Gadkari and his family derived undue pecuniary benefits from the EBP, accusing him of corruption, nepotism, and conflict of interest. The minister argues that this content is "ex facie false, fabricated, malicious, and abusive," noting that it exploits his personality and publicity rights without his authorization.

In his plea, Gadkari emphasized that the lawsuit is not intended to stifle public debate or fair criticism regarding his official functions. Instead, he maintains that the specific content in question constitutes defamation in law. Alongside the request for the removal of the identified posts, the minister is seeking damages totaling Rs 11 crore. Justice Abhay Ahuja granted the leave for the suit to be filed, and the case is expected to be listed before Justice Arif Doctor in the future.