Gujarat High Court Issues Notice On PIL Flagging Alarming Rise Of Deepfakes & AI Generated Fake Content

The Gujarat High Court recently issued notice on a PIL raising concerns about the “sharp and alarming rise” in deepfake and AI-generated content circulating on digital and social media platforms and seeking the formulation of procedural rules to address such threats.

The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray sought responses from the State and Central Governments as well as the Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP).

The Court noted that the plea “highlights the issues pertaining to sharp and alarming rise in fake and AI-generated videos/photographs being uploaded on online platforms such as video-sharing websites, social media platforms and messaging applications, which are largely of three categories: (i) Deepfake impersonations; (ii) Obscene and vulgar portrayals; and (iii) Mocking and dehumanizing depictions.”

According to the petitioner, although the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the regulatory framework governing intermediaries provide a detailed legal architecture, practical enforcement gaps continue to persist.

Highlighting these concerns, the petition states that inspite of there being a detailed regulatory architecture, practical procedural gaps still persists in, which are highlighted as under:

i. real-time support available to police and specialised cyber units when confronted with fast-spreading deepfakes

ii. coordination between State police, MeitY's blocking and Sahyog/takedown portals, and platform-level enforcement

iii. clear prioritisation and escalation protocols when deepfakes target constitutional authorities and may threaten public order and institutional legitimacy.

The petitioner submitted that while the statutory framework criminalises several forms of online misconduct, such as identity theft, cheating by personation, violation of privacy, and circulation of obscene electronic content, the speed and scale at which deepfakes spread require more coordinated institutional responses.

The petition also refers to the due diligence obligations imposed on intermediaries under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, along with subsequent amendments dealing with AI-generated content.

Section 79 provides "safe harbour" immunity to intermediaries like social media platforms from liability for third-party content, provided they act as neutral facilitators and comply with due diligence requirements.

The petition maintains that the 2025 Amendment to the IT Rules specifically aims to address concerns raised by synthetically generated information (SGI) and deepfakes by prescribing obligations such as content labelling and traceability requirements on intermediaries mandating stricter timelines (including three-hour compliance for government takedown orders and shorter deadlines for sensitive content), and introducing mandatory reporting to appropriate authorities of specified offences that come to an intermediary's notice. However, the petition argued that practical and enforcement gaps remain.

The petitioner therefore invokes Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which empowers the Government to issue directions for interception, monitoring or decryption of information through computer resources. It is maintained that rules prescribing the procedure to enforce these provisions issued through Section 69 are necessary to enable authorities to effectively address deepfake content and other forms of AI-driven misinformation.

The matter is listed on March 20.

Case Title: Vikas Vijay Nair v. State of Gujarat & Ors.

Case No.: C/WPPIL/9/2026

Appearance: Mr. Amit M. Panchal for the Petitioner; Mr. Kamal Trivedi, Advocate General with Mr. G.H. Virk, GP and Mr. Vinay Vishen, AGP for Respondent Nos. 1–2; Mr. Ankit Shah for Respondent Nos. 3–4.

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