The Madras High Court, on Friday (October 23), granted bail to a Rajasthani man who allegedly created fake AI videos of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay and scammed people by collecting money in his name.

Justice N Ramesh granted conditional bail, directing the applicant to report to the jurisdictional police daily until further orders. The court also asked the applicant to provide two sureties, one blood surety and one local surety, for bail.

The court granted bail after noting that the applicant had been in judicial custody since September 12, 2026. The court also noted that the investigation had been completed and the chargesheet was also ready. The court also noted that the mobile phone used in the alleged offence had been seized. The court was thus inclined to grant bail, on the condition of daily appearance.

The applicant, Shyabu Khan, was arrested on September 12, 2026, for offences under Sections 204, 318(2), 319(2), 336(3), and 340(2) of the BNS, and Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act.

As per the prosecution, the applicant had generated fake AI scam videos on Facebook impersonating CM Vijay with the intention of inducing the public. It was submitted that the man had created two Facebook profiles: "All India Help Vijay Thalapati" and "All India Help", and circulated digitally manipulated AI videos asking the general public to contact them for any help. The prosecution alleged that the man had collected registration fees from the public.

The applicant had initially approached the trial court for bail. He had argued that his friend had created the videos and had used his cell number and Facebook ID. He argued that the friend was also operating his bank account. The applicant pleaded innocence and submitted that he had no knowledge of the scam videos and had no intention to cheat or impersonate anybody. He thus argued that he was falsely implicated in the case.

The trial court had rejected bail on October 14, after noting that the investigation was ongoing. The applicant had then approached the High Court.

He submitted that he had been in judicial custody for more than 45 days and the investigation was also over.

The government advocate objected to the bail and argued that the applicant had scammed people using the Chief Minister's name. She submitted that the applicant had collected Rs 16,000 using the Chief Minister's name.

After considering the materials, the court was inclined to grant bail.