Delhi High Court Orders Removal of Objectionable Social Media Posts Targeting MP Raghav Chadha

New Delhi, July 1: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the removal of certain objectionable social media posts targeting Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, while observing that the remaining content did not appear to be defamatory at first glance. Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the interim order while hearing Chadha’s plea seeking the takedown of allegedly false, malicious, AI-generated, and deepfake content circulating on various social media platforms. “I have asked to take down certain content. The rest of the content is not defamatory prima facie,” the court observed while pronouncing the order. A detailed copy of the judgment is awaited. Chadha, who recently left the Aam Aadmi Party and joined the BJP, had approached the High Court alleging that fabricated posts and manipulated videos created using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology had caused serious harm to his reputation and violated his personality and publicity rights. The court had reserved its verdict on the plea for interim relief on May 21 after hearing arguments from both sides. In his petition, Chadha argued that the unauthorised use of AI and deepfake technology to create and spread misleading content amounted to a violation of his legal and constitutional rights, and sought immediate removal of the offending material from social media platforms. Several other prominent personalities, including actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Salman Khan, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, entrepreneur Raj Shamani, and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, have also approached the Delhi High Court in recent years seeking protection of their personality and publicity rights. The court had granted interim relief in those cases as well.