NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday ordered the removal of certain social media content it found to be defamatory against Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha. The court also said that his lawsuit does not involve personality rights.Justice Subramonium Prasad delivered the order on Chadha’s plea seeking interim relief in a suit alleging the misuse of his image, likeness, voice and identity through AI-generated deepfakes, morphed visuals and manipulated content circulated on social media, news agency ANI reported.As per the operative portion of the order pronounced in open court, the high court directed the takedown of specific content that allegedly depicted Chadha as having “sold himself for money”, observing that such material was defamatory.At the same time, the court held that the present suit does not fall within the ambit of personality rights, indicating that the grievance raised does not attract protection typically available in such actions.The detailed reasoning behind the decision is yet to be released, as the signed order has not been uploaded on the HC’s website.During the hearing, the Bench noted that the line between defamation and legitimate criticism is often thin. The court also stressed the need to balance an individual’s right to dignity and reputation with the constitutional guarantee of free speech under Article 19.Senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Chadha, argued that the online content went beyond political criticism and comprised defamatory and profane posts portraying the MP as having switched political allegiance for monetary gain. He submitted that the AI-generated and manipulated material caused serious reputational harm.Counsel for Meta contended that several screenshots relied upon by Chadha were newspaper reports or otherwise innocuous material, and disputed the allegations made in the suit, ANI reported.Chadha had approached the high court seeking protection against the alleged unauthorised use of his image, likeness, voice and identity through artificial intelligence and digitally manipulated content shared on social media platforms.The case is among a growing number before the Delhi High Court examining the legal implications of artificial intelligence and the unauthorised use of the identities of public figures.(With agency inputs)
