The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said it would hear the civil suit by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC and unknown people over ‘defamatory’ posts and deepfakes uploaded targeting his ethanol fuel policy, as per PTI.
The bench of Justice Arif Doctor directed the Gadkari’s advocate Sandeep Ladda to serve the respondents copies of the civil suit, seeking a permanent injunction against the circulation of posts linking him and his family to alleged E20-related business gains.
What is Gadkari’s plea about?
Gadkari in his plea sought the immediate takedown of the defamatory posts. He also called for injunction against the circulation of all such content.
According to Bar and Bench, Gadkari, through the suit filed by Ladda, said that he had no role in formulating or implementing E20, a policy handled by the petroleum ministry. He said that the viral content online has crossed the line from political criticism into targeted defamation.
In his suit, Gadkari explained that the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) was introduced way back in 2003 by the government to reduce India's dependence on imported crude oil, enhance energy security and promote the use of renewable and indigenous sources of energy. The policy to blend ethanol with petrol was progressively expanded, culminating in 20% blending (E20) in the 2025‑26. This was done in a phased manner and is a matter of public record, Gadkari has claimed.
Opposition slams Gadkari
The Congress said that Hardeep Singh Puri, despite being the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, never spoke of the E20 despite being the Petroleum Minister.
In a post on X, Congress said, “This Nitin Gadkari was always talking about Ethanol, E20 being sold for 15 Rupees per litre and what not. His both sons run two Ethanol producing companies, which are values thousands of crores. Now he is filing cases against people who connected him to E20.”
Delhi Taxi and Tour Operators to protest against E20
According to a report by ANI, the Delhi Taxi and Tourist Transport and Tour Operators Association on Tuesday called for a Parliament protest march against the ethanol-blended policy on August 4 in the national capital.
Speaking to ANI, Association President Sanjay Samrat highlighted that ethanol petrol will damage vehicles in the country.
"Ever since our honourable Nitin Gadkari Sahab became the Transport Minister, we have had to face difficulties; we have been suffering for more than 10 years. Our concerns are being continuously ignored. And he has added a chapter to this such that earlier we were suffering financial and mental losses, and now he has also set up a way to mess with our minds. This sugarcane juice that is being given to us in the name of ethanol--our vehicles will get damaged later, but it messes with our minds,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
