The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the removal of several AI-generated and manipulated social media posts allegedly targeting actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan, while clarifying that the primary responsibility to remove the content lies with the original uploaders, with intermediary platforms stepping in only if the uploaders fail to comply.
Senior advocate N Hariharan argued that the issue was not merely offensive language but the false attribution of AI-generated content to the plaintiff. Emphasising the harm caused by such fabricated content, he submitted:
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“It has to be attributable to me… There are all false statements being attributed to me. So tomorrow anything else can be published like this?”
On AI-generated memes, Counsel for the platform argued that it was merely meme content with no political message. The Court also examined another post depicting the plaintiff praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as god. While it was argued that the post was neither vulgar nor objectionable, the plaintiff submitted that he had never made the statements attributed to him and that fabricated endorsements violated his personality rights.
Turning to the relief sought against intermediary platforms, the Court accepted the submission that the injunction could not operate indiscriminately against all defendants. It observed that the first obligation to remove the impugned content rested with the uploaders, adding that intermediary liability would arise only upon their failure to comply. The Bench observed:
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“The uploaders will have to do it in the first instance. But if they don’t do it…remove within 3 days”
Justice Jyoti Singh thereafter directed the parties to identify the remaining URLs platform-wise, ordered the concerned entities to take down the specified content within one week, and directed that a soft copy of the links be furnished to facilitate compliance.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 16, 2026.