Delhi HC Orders Takedown Of 'AI-Morphed' Images, Issues Notices To CJP Leaders

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices to Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and party spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka in a petition filed by a woman alleging that her images with Prime Minister Narendra Modi were digitally altered using artificial intelligence and circulated during CJP protests.

The court also directed Meta to remove the alleged objectionable content from its platforms after receiving the relevant links to the images.

“This is extraordinary position in which the matter is not of one lady; it is a matter about the Prime Minister of the country. I will make sure that the Delhi Police is sensitive,” Justice Girish Kathpalia said, according to Bar and Bench.

The court directed the Delhi Police to provide protection to the woman, who claimed she received threats after the circulation of the alleged morphed images. It also ordered that her address be kept confidential and shared only with officials responsible for her security.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 14.

In her petition, the woman alleged that CJP leaders used her personal photograph and AI face-swapping tools to create manipulated images showing her alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She claimed the images were circulated during protests organised by the party at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

“During recent protests held by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, respondents No. 2 to 5 (CJP leaders) along with their active accomplices-unauthorisedly harvested the personal photograph of the petitioner and utilised Artificial Intelligence (AI) face-swapping tools to morph her face,” the plea stated, according to PTI.

The woman, represented by advocate Umesh Chandra Sharma, told the court that an FIR had already been registered in the matter but alleged that no effective action had been taken to identify those responsible or remove the content.

The complainant, a content creator, had earlier alleged that the circulation of the images caused her “absolute distress, fear, and trauma”. She named CJP convenor Abhijeet Dipke and spokespersons Ratna Singh and Saurav Das among others in her complaint.

The FIR was registered at the Cyber Police Station in New Delhi district against unidentified persons under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

“During the recent CJP protests at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, certain delinquent demonstrators and organisers unauthorisedly harvested my personal photograph. Using digital manipulation and AI face-swapping tools, they morphed my face directly onto an image alongside the Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, fabricating a completely false, compromising, and sensationalized picture,” the FIR, accessed by Hindustan Times, stated.

The Delhi High Court had earlier agreed to urgently hear the woman’s criminal writ petition seeking removal of the alleged deepfake images from online platforms.