The Delhi High Court has taken cognisance of a petition filed by a woman accusing leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) of circulating AI-generated deepfake images of her alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, allegedly on social media platforms, following which she claims to have received threats. The court has issued notices to the named CJP leaders and directed Meta Platforms to remove the objectionable content within 24 hours, while also ordering police protection for the petitioner.

What the Petition Alleges

In her petition, the woman has named CJP leaders Saurav Das, Abhijit Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, and Ratna Singh as accused. She alleges that the four, along with accomplices, 'unauthorisedly obtained' her photograph during a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and used AI tools to morph it into what she describes as a 'highly vulgar, compromising image' alongside the Prime Minister.

The petition further alleges that the morphed images were not only made viral across social media but were also displayed on physical banners during the demonstration. According to the plea, 'the perpetrators printed physical banners of this morphed picture, paraded them in massive crowds, raised sexually suggestive and derogatory slogans, and maliciously uploaded videos onto Instagram and other social media platforms.' In what the petitioner describes as the most disturbing element, she has alleged that 'non-consensual explicit photos' were also uploaded and distributed on pornographic websites.

Context: The July Jantar Mantar Agitation

The woman alleges the incident stemmed from the July 2026 CJP protest at Jantar Mantar, which was led by Dipke and co-convener Das, with activist Sonam Wangchuk playing a prominent role. The CJP had spearheaded a 36-day agitation protesting alleged irregularities in the 2026 NEET examination. The protest concluded with the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The CJP is widely described as an offshoot of Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), positioning itself as a youth-led pressure group with a stated agenda of challenging and removing the ruling party.

The named CJP leaders are yet to formally respond to the court notices; their version of events will emerge once they file their replies.

A Precedent From Bihar

This is not an isolated incident of AI being weaponised for political point-scoring. On 10 September 2025, the Bihar Congress unit shared an AI-generated video on X (formerly Twitter) featuring PM Modi and his late mother. Following a legal challenge, the Patna High Court directed that the video be removed from social media platforms. The pattern suggests that the misuse of generative AI in political campaigns is becoming increasingly systematic rather than incidental.

Broader Implications for AI and Political Conduct

The case raises urgent questions about the regulatory gap around AI-generated content in political discourse. India currently lacks a dedicated law specifically criminalising deepfake content used for political defamation or non-consensual intimate imagery, leaving courts to address individual cases through existing provisions. Critics argue that as social media amplifies reach and AI tools lower the barrier to content manipulation, the window for meaningful legal intervention after such content goes viral is dangerously narrow. The Delhi High Court's directive to Meta to act within 24 hours signals judicial impatience with platform-speed responses to harm. How the court proceeds — and whether it lays down broader guidelines — could shape the legal framework around political deepfakes in India.