Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has approached the Bombay High Court seeking Rs 11 crore in damages over alleged violations of his personality rights through abusive social media posts, AI-generated deepfakes and fabricated content linking him and his family to the Centre’s E20 ethanol-blending programme and alleged corruption.

In the suit, Gadkari said he has no role in framing or implementing the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) or the E20 initiative, asserting that the policy falls under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), not the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which he heads.

Gadkari Alleges Defamation Through AI Content

The 86-page civil suit, filed through advocate Sandeep Laddha, names Meta, X, Google, YouTube, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Department of Telecommunications and unidentified individuals identified as “Ashok Kumar/John Doe” as defendants.

According to the petition, several viral reels, memes, videos and fabricated quotes falsely portray Gadkari as the architect of the E20 ethanol policy and accuse him and his family of deriving financial benefits from the programme.

Gadkari contended that these allegations are baseless, contradicted by official government records and amount to defamation through the dissemination of false information.

Seeks Removal of Deepfakes

The minister has sought permanent and mandatory injunctions directing the removal of AI-generated images, manipulated videos, face-swap clips and deepfakes that allegedly use his name, likeness, voice and mannerisms without his consent.

The petition argues that the unauthorised digital use of his identity amounts to a violation of his personality and publicity rights.

Gadkari clarified that the suit does not seek to prevent legitimate criticism or public debate on government policies. However, he argued that the disputed content goes beyond political commentary or satire by relying on fabricated visuals, false statements and abusive language to damage his reputation.

E20 Programme Under Petroleum Ministry

The petition traces the origins of the Ethanol Blending Programme to a Government of India policy introduced in 2003 and notes that it has gradually expanded to the current target of 20 per cent ethanol blending for the 2025-26 ethanol supply year.

Gadkari maintained that all policy decisions, implementation and regulatory oversight relating to the programme are handled exclusively by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

The suit identifies 26 online links containing the allegedly defamatory material and seeks their removal, along with compensation of Rs 11 crore.

The matter is scheduled to come up for hearing before Justice Arif S. Doctor of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday.

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