{"id":5567,"date":"2026-07-27T08:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=5567"},"modified":"2026-07-27T08:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:20:12","slug":"e20-petrol-row-nitin-gadkari-moves-bombay-hc-over-defamatory-posts-deepfake-videos-targeting-him-india-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=5567","title":{"rendered":"E20 petrol row: Nitin Gadkari moves Bombay HC over &#8216;defamatory&#8217; posts, deepfake videos targeting him | India News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-132656098,imgsize-1124973,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/132656098.jpg\" alt=\"E20 petrol row: Nitin Gadkari moves Bombay HC over 'defamatory' posts, deepfake videos targeting him\" title=\"E20 Petrol deepfake battle: Nitin Gadkari moves Bombay HC over defamatory content targeting him\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"E20 Petrol deepfake battle: Nitin Gadkari moves Bombay HC over defamatory content targeting him\">E20 Petrol deepfake battle: Nitin Gadkari moves Bombay HC over defamatory content targeting him<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>NEW DELHI: The Bombay high court on Monday allowed Union minister <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/nitin-gadkari\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nitin Gadkari<\/a> to file a civil suit against the alleged circulation of defamatory and deepfake content about him on the internet in connection with the E20 ethanol-blended petrol programme.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>Justice Abhay Ahuja granted Gadkari permission to institute the suit after his lawyer, Advocate Sandeep S Ladda, sought leave under Clause XII of the Letters Patent. The provision requires the court&#8217;s permission when part of the cause of action arises outside its territorial jurisdiction, Bar and Bench reported. <span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>Ladda submitted that the allegedly defamatory and deepfake material was publicly available on social media platforms, including to users in Mumbai. <!-- -->He argued that since the content could be viewed within the jurisdiction of the Bombay high court, a substantial part of the cause of action arose in the city.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/>At the same time, the content was accessible across the country and outside Mumbai through internet platforms. Ladda therefore sought permission under Clause XII to enable Gadkari to bring the proposed suit before the High Court&#8217;s original civil jurisdiction.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/>The court granted the leave sought, allowing Gadkari to proceed with the substantive civil suit.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>What Gadkari has alleged<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"18\"\/>Gadkari, who is the Union minister for road transport and highways, has alleged that unknown persons circulated social media posts, videos and AI-generated deepfake content falsely portraying him as personally responsible for the E20 programme.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>As quoted by Bar &amp; Bench, according to the proposed suit, the content also allegedly claims that Gadkari and his family financially benefited from the ethanol-blending programme. <!-- -->Gadkari has described the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>He has alleged that the content is intended to create a misleading impression that he misused his public office for personal gain, causing serious harm to his reputation, dignity, goodwill and public image.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>The proposed suit seeks permanent and mandatory injunctions against the circulation of the alleged defamatory and deepfake material, including social media posts, reels, videos and other online content.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>Gadkari has also alleged that some of the material falsely attributes statements to him and uses AI-manipulated audio-visual content to imitate his name, image, likeness, facial features and voice without his consent.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>The proposed defendants include Meta Platforms, which operates Facebook and Instagram, X Corp, Google LLC and YouTube. The Union ministry of electronics and information technology and the department of telecommunications have also been named.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/>The unidentified creators and distributors of the alleged content have been included as &#8216;Ashok Kumars\/John Does&#8217;.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/>The suit, however, makes clear that Gadkari is not seeking to prevent legitimate criticism or public debate. It states that fair and good-faith criticism based on facts and without malice is not the subject of the action.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"38\"\/>The plea instead targets what Gadkari describes as false and defamatory allegations that cross the limits of lawful speech.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>What is <keyword id=\"23335794\" type=\"General\" weightage=\"20\" keywordseo=\"E20-petrol\" source=\"keywords\">E20 petrol<\/keyword>?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>E20 petrol is a fuel blend containing 20% ethanol and 80% petrol. The programme is part of the government&#8217;s efforts to reduce India&#8217;s dependence on imported crude oil, lower emissions and increase the use of domestically produced biofuels.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"46\"\/>The rollout of E20 has also led to concerns over the compatibility of older vehicles that were not designed for higher ethanol blends. Some vehicle owners have raised concerns about fuel efficiency, corrosion and potential compatibility issues.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"49\"\/>Vehicle manufacturers have increasingly introduced models compatible with E20, while questions remain over vehicles manufactured before the wider adoption of the blend.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"51\"\/>Gadkari&#8217;s proposed suit maintains that the E20 programme is administered by the petroleum and natural gas ministry, rather than by him personally.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"53\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/e20-petrol-row-nitin-gadkari-moves-bombay-hc-over-defamatory-posts-deepfake-videos-targeting-him\/articleshow\/132656029.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>E20 Petrol deepfake battle: Nitin Gadkari moves Bombay HC over defamatory content targeting him NEW DELHI: The Bombay high court on Monday allowed Union minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil suit against the alleged circulation of defamatory and deepfake content about him on the internet in connection with the E20 ethanol-blended petrol programme.Justice Abhay [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/132656098.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"E20 Petrol deepfake battle: Nitin Gadkari moves Bombay HC over defamatory content targeting him NEW DELHI: The Bombay high court on Monday allowed Union minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil suit against the alleged circulation of defamatory and deepfake content about him on the internet in connection with the E20 ethanol-blended petrol programme.Justice Abhay [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 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