New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday directed Meta Platforms to immediately remove objectionable content involving an alleged morphed image of a woman shown alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The court also ordered police protection for the woman after she told the court that she had received threats.
Justice Girish Kathpalia observed that the matter was extraordinary as it concerned not only the woman but also the country’s Prime Minister. The court said the police must take the woman’s safety concerns seriously.
The court also issued notices to Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das, Abhijit Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Ratna Singh over the allegations. The woman has accused them of circulating allegedly morphed and explicit images of her alongside the Prime Minister. The allegations have not been established by the court.
Woman Alleges AI Deepfake Images Were Circulated
According to the woman’s plea, her personal photograph was allegedly obtained without her consent and manipulated using AI-based face-swapping technology. The resulting images were described in the petition as vulgar and compromising.
The dispute relates to a recent CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, where the alleged morphed image was reportedly displayed and subsequently circulated online. Delhi Police registered an FIR at its Cyber Police Station following the woman’s complaint.
Her lawyer told the court that despite the FIR, immediate steps had allegedly not been taken to remove or block the links carrying the disputed content.
Delhi HC Orders Police Protection
The woman told the court that she was receiving threats to her life. The High Court directed the Delhi Police to provide her complete protection and ordered the investigating officer to obtain her residential details and communicate them to the jurisdictional police station.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 14.
The case comes amid growing legal scrutiny over the use of AI-generated and manipulated images in online harassment. The Delhi Police FIR was registered under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
