Delhi HC issues notice to CJP activists over AI-morphed images of woman with PM, orders Meta to remove within 24 hours | Today’s news
The Delhi High Court on Friday issued a notice to Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activists Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ratna Singh in a woman’s petition seeking deletion of allegedly doctored and AI-generated pictures of her with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The court also ordered that a copy of its directions be sent to Meta immediately and instructed the company to remove the identified objectionable material from its platforms within 24 hours, reports ANI. The investigating officer was asked to immediately share the relevant URLs with Meta to enable the content to be removed.
The court further ordered that a copy of its order be sent forthwith to Meta along with the notice of motion.
The petitioner, through advocate Umesh Chandra Sharma, alleged that her photographs were used without permission and digitally altered using AI to create objectionable pictures of her with PM Modi. She further alleged that the images were later shared across social media platforms and displayed at a demonstration linked to the CJP.
“During the recent protests organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, respondents Nos. 2 to 5 (leaders of CJP) along with their active accomplices illegally harvested the personal photograph of the petitioner and used artificial intelligence (AI) along with face swapping tools of the Prime Minister to transform her face into a morphological image of India,” he said.
Read also | ‘I resign as MP CM’: CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke’s satirical letter
Justice Girish Kathpalia, hearing the matter, directed the Delhi Police to provide full protection to the petitioner and ordered the police to submit a report within a week detailing the action taken on the First Information Report (FIR).
The court did not rule on the charges brought against the private respondents.
During the hearing, Sharma alleged that the police did not take adequate action even after lodging the FIR and said that the petitioner was receiving threats.
Read also | Gaurav Bhatia filed a ₹2 defamation suit against Saurav, another CJP leader
A Delhi Police adviser confirmed that an FIR has been registered based on the complaint.
The court noted that some of the requests to remove the images would normally fall within the jurisdiction of a civil court. However, considering the sensitive nature of the matter and the urgency, he decided to explore the reliefs sought in the petition.
Regarding the alleged objectionable content, the court took note of the petitioner’s submission that some web links attached to the proposal are inaccessible. As a precautionary measure, he ordered the registry to remove or hide those references from the petition and accompanying documents.
Read also | Swatantra Bhardwaj Arrest Explained: How A Viral Podcast Led To His Arrest
The court also ordered the petitioner to submit all relevant photographs and videos in electronic form along with relevant web links to the investigating authority.
The investigating agency was further directed to ensure that the photographs and videos remain strictly confidential.
HC instructions on petitioner’s security
Regarding the issue of the applicant’s security, the court noted that the proposal did not include her residential address. It directed her to provide her full address to sub-inspector Anurag, who then forwarded the details to the station house officer (SHO) concerned.
The SHO having jurisdiction over the residence of the petitioner was instructed to take all necessary and practicable steps to ensure full police protection.
The court also directed the authorities to submit a status report within two weeks detailing the security measures taken for the petitioner. It also expressed concern for her safety and stated that it did not want her to be harmed.
