The Patna High Court has issued a stern warning to Meta Platforms Inc., instructing it to remove within 48 hours an AI-generated video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother, Heeraben Modi, and cautioning that contempt proceedings would follow failure to comply. The court’s direction emerged during a hearing on a public interest litigation filed by Vivekanand Singh, challenging the circulation of the video by the Bihar Congress unit. The bench comprising the Chief Justice and another judge recorded Meta’s assurance, through Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, that upon receipt of the offending URL the content would be taken down within the stipulated time.
Prior to this, on September 17, the Court had already issued an order restraining intermediaries from facilitating further circulation of the video, invoking precedents that protect dignity and privacy as part of fundamental rights. The petitioners contended that the video was derogatory and dishonouring toward the Prime Minister’s mother, and that its dissemination violated both privacy and public dignity norms. The Court observed that Meta's continued hosting of the video despite existing interim orders could amount to contempt, and thus directed immediate action.
The Court further ordered the petitioner to supply, within two days, a pen drive containing the impugned video along with relevant documents and the precise URL codes to Meta, Google and X (formerly Twitter). The respondents were also permitted to file objections to both the interlocutory applications and the main petition before the next scheduled hearing, which has been set for November.
The video in question purported to depict a dreamlike scene in which the Prime Minister’s mother appears to reprimand him over policy decisions. The petitioner described the content as “disgusting, disgraceful, distasteful and dishonouring,” arguing that it could not be tolerated under constitutional norms. He also alleged that the video had been posted with the awareness of political figures. In response, Meta’s counsel confirmed readiness to comply with court directions once the exact URL was provided.
By mandating prompt takedown and threatening contempt sanctions, the Patna High Court has underscored the gravity of unauthorized AI content involving public figures and their families, as well as the judiciary’s willingness to enforce its orders against platforms that host such material.
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