The plaintiff, Sudhir Chaudhary, a well-known journalist, filed a suit against Meta Platforms Inc. (which operates Facebook and Instagram), Google\/YouTube, and others for circulating defamatory and misleading videos. He alleged that the videos were AI-generated and morphed to imitate his face and voice, spreading false statements and damaging his reputation. He submitted a list of over 60 URLs and accounts across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram that posted or reshared the content. He sought an interim injunction for the immediate removal of the content and prevent further dissemination.<\/p>\n
The Delhi High Court Court held that the plaintiff had made out a prima facie case for interim relief, given the nature of the videos, which were clearly defamatory and AI-manipulated. It observed that such deepfake content was capable of seriously harming an individual\u2019s reputation, particularly a public figure engaged in journalism. The Court noted that the videos superimposed the plaintiff\u2019s face and voice to create fabricated material, and that this amounted to an intentional attempt to mislead the public.<\/p>\n
The Court directed the defendants to take down the listed URLs (annexed to the order) within 72 hours if the users failed to do so, and to also remove any content within 48 hours as notified by the plaintiff during the pendency of the suit.<\/p>\n
The platforms were directed to preserve metadata and account details of the uploaders for investigative purposes.<\/p>\n
Regarding pre-litigation mediation, the Court accepted that urgent relief was warranted and therefore waived strict compliance under Section 12A due to the ongoing harm to reputation.<\/p>\n