Amid the ongoing nationwide debate over the E-20 fuel policy, the Bombay High Court has now cleared the way for Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to file a defamation suit against digital platforms like Meta, Google, and X. Gadkari had approached the court alleging that his and his family’s reputation was damaged through deepfake videos and misleading campaigns.
With the court’s permission, Gadkari can now file a civil suit against Facebook and Instagram, which are owned by Meta, as well as against X, Google, and unidentified individuals or pages that created and circulated the defamatory content. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications have also been made parties to the suit.
According to the petition, various posts, edited videos, and deepfake content circulating on social media are falsely claiming that Gadkari and his family financially benefited from the E-20 scheme. As per his allegation, the purpose of this misinformation campaign is to mislead the public and tarnish his public image.
Gadkari told the court that the ethanol-blended petrol program and the E-20 scheme do not fall under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. This scheme is implemented under the responsibility of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Therefore, the allegations made against him are baseless.
In the petition, he further stated that he has no role in the formulation, implementation, or management of the E-20 policy. Despite that, his personal and public reputation has been damaged due to this misinformation campaign on social media.
Gadkari has sought the court’s direction for the immediate removal of all deepfake videos, edited visuals, and any content falsely linking him to the E-20 scheme. He has also requested action against individuals who create, publish, and circulate such content, and an order to prevent such campaigns in the future.
While the Bombay High Court has granted Gadkari permission to file the civil suit, it stated that the plea for interim relief will be heard at a later stage.
