The Delhi High Court today said it will pass an order in the plea filed by INC MP, Shashi Tharoor, alleging the circulation of AI-generated deepfake videos falsely portraying him making politically sensitive statements. Justice Justice Mini Pushkarna issued notice in the matter, directed the plaint to be registered as a suit
Senior Advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for Tharoor, argued that manipulated videos falsely portrayed the Congress MP praising Pakistan’s foreign policy and making statements which he never made.
“The forgery is so realistic that it has deceived unsuspecting members of the public, the political establishment, as well as various foreign journalists, escalating the matter into an international embarrassment,” it was submitted.
Mr Sibal argued that the case involved the protection of personality rights and misuse of identity through AI-generated content. He submitted:
“We are not claiming copyright or patent. This is a common law tort, not an IP matter.”
During the hearing, Mr Sibal also submitted that while some URLs had already been removed, identical content continued resurfacing across platforms through different links.
“The problem is that after being taken down, they reappear on different URLs, like I said, the ten heads of Ravana.”
The Court was informed that Meta had already made inaccessible certain Instagram URLs identified in Schedule 1 of the plaint. The plaintiff also sought disclosure of details linked to the identified URLs, including available account information and IP-related details.
Justice Mini Pushkarna issued notice in the matter, with notice and summons accepted by Defendant Nos. 3, 4 and 5, while notice was directed to Defendant No. 2. The plaint was directed to be registered as a suit, and orders will be passed in terms of prayers A, B, C and D relating to takedown of content, similar content and disclosure of details linked to the identified URLs.
The matter is listed before the Joint Registrar on July 13, 2026, and before the Court on October 13, 2026.
Appearances
Plaintiff- Senior Advocate Amit Sibal and Adv Tine Elizabeth Abraham