The Delhi High Court has directed Meta platforms to immediately remove a morphed and explicit photograph allegedly depicting a woman alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while ordering Delhi Police to provide her protection after she reported threats to her life.
Justice Girish Kathpalia also issued notices to four members of the Cockroach Janta Party — Saurav Das, Abhijit Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Ratna Singh — on a petition filed by the woman. The petition alleged that the respondents circulated the image after using AI face-swapping tools to place her face on a vulgar photograph alongside the Prime Minister.
The court was told that the image and related links had circulated on social media following recent protests organised by the group at Jantar Mantar. The petitioner’s lawyer said an FIR had been registered, but alleged that no concrete steps had been taken to apprehend those responsible or secure the immediate removal or blocking of the links.
At the start of the hearing, the court observed that a request for takedown of objectionable content would ordinarily be dealt with by a civil court. However, Justice Kathpalia said the sensitivity of the matter meant that the woman should not be required to approach multiple forums. The High Court decided to deal with all the reliefs sought in the petition.
The judge noted that the case involved not only the petitioner but also the Prime Minister. “In such matters, I would not have entertained because you have alternative remedies available, but it is not just a matter of the lady but also the Prime Minister of the country,” Justice Kathpalia said, according to the report. He also remarked that the other face in the image should have been blurred in the court record.
The woman told the court that she had received threats to her life. The High Court directed her to provide her exact address to the investigating officer and ordered Delhi Police to arrange protection in all possible and practical ways. The police have also been directed to file a status report within a week detailing the action taken and the further steps proposed in the case.
The court referred to the legal position that a victim may claim compensation from organisers when an illegality is committed during a demonstration. It clarified that the pending petition would not prevent the woman from seeking any other relief available under law.
To protect the petitioner’s privacy, the court registry was directed to redact her name and the web links from the petition and its annexures. The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 14.
