The Delhi High Court moved swiftly on Friday to intervene in the digital harassment case involving a woman whose image was allegedly AI-morphed during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests. Justice Girish Kathpalia issued notices to CJP leaders Saurav Das, Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, and Ratna Singh. The court gave Meta a strict 24-hour window to remove all objectionable pictures and links related to the victim from its platforms.
But the relief extends beyond the digital sphere. The bench ordered immediate police protection for the woman, citing the severity of the threat. Justice Kathpalia was blunt about the stakes. "This is an extraordinary position in which the matter is not of one woman, it is a matter about the Prime Minister of the country," he said. He added that if the authorities were not sensitive to the gravity of the situation, the court would ensure they became so.
The legal action follows a complaint filed with Delhi Police after the woman alleged her photo was superimposed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s face using AI and face-swap technology. The manipulated image appeared on large banners and posters at the Jantar Mantar protest site. A video containing the image also circulated widely on Instagram. Police registered an FIR against 'unknown persons,' notably failing to name the CJP leaders mentioned in the initial complaint as accused.
The fallout from the CJP agitation has been legally turbulent. The protest began on June 20 and dragged on for over a month, culminating in clashes where security forces used lathis and teargas. The movement ended on July 25 after former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and the government accepted other CJP demands. The Supreme Court had previously cancelled all FIRs against CJP protesters, except those involving criminal antecedents, setting the stage for this specific high-profile harassment case to proceed in the High Court.
Delhi Police now has two weeks to file a status report on the investigation. The court’s intervention signals a hard line against non-consensual deepfakes, particularly those involving political figures. The next critical step lies with Meta’s compliance team, who must execute the takedown order within the 24-hour deadline, and with the police, who must justify their initial decision to keep the CJP leaders unnamed in the FIR.