Meta Assures Deletion Of AI-Video Of PM Modi's Mother Within 48 Hours As Patna High Court Warns Of Contempt Action

The Patna High Court on Tuesday (October 15) warned Meta Platforms Inc. that suo motu contempt proceedings would be initiated against it, if it failed to comply with the Court's previous direction to remove the AI-generated video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother Heeraben Modi. In response, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing through video conference on behalf of Meta, assured the Court that once the URL is furnished to them, it will be removed within 48 hours. A Bench of Chief Justice PB Bajanthri and Justice Alok Kumar Sinha accordingly recorded the assurance. For context, the Court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by one Vivekanand Singh seeking the removal of the video in question originally posted by the Bihar Congress on their social media platforms.On September 17, the Court directed the intermediaries to stall the circulation of the video, in the light of the various Supreme Court judgments such as "KS Puttaswamy", "NALSA Foundation", "Subramanian Swamy" etc, which held that the right to privacy and dignity were part of fundamental rights of a person."If respondent no. 6 (Meta) is violating the orders of this Court, he shall rectify himself, failing which suo motu contempt action would be initiated", the Bench observed on October 15 when the matter came up for a hearing. Essentially, the Court noted the submission of Senior Advocate Santosh Kumar, appearing for the petitioner, that despite the interim injunction order restraining circulation of the video, Meta Platforms (Instagram and Facebook) continued to host the derogatory content. In response, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing through video conference on behalf of Meta, assured the Court that "once the URL is furnished to the 6th respondent, it will be removed within 48 hours". The Bench accordingly recorded the assurance. The Court also directed the petitioner to supply relevant documents, including a pen drive containing the offending material, to the respondents' counsel within two days.It further directed the petitioner to furnish the URL code of the offending video to Meta, Google, and X (formerly Twitter) within two days for effective compliance of the earlier order passed on September 17, 2025. The Court also permitted all served respondents to file objections, if any, on both the interlocutory applications as well as on the main petition before the next date of hearing (November 12).The alleged video showed Prime Minister Modi having a dream in his sleep where his mother appears to reprimand him for his policies. The petitioner argued that the video was "disgusting, disgraceful, distasteful and dishonouring" as it infringed the dignity of the Prime Minister's late mother. The petitioner submitted that the video was posted with the knowledge of Rahul Gandhi.AppearancesFor Petitioner/s : Sr. Adv Santosh Kumar, Advocates Praveen Kumar, Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal, Utsav, Rajeev Ranjan Mishra, Rohit Raj, Saurabh Raj, Raushan Kumar, Ravi Prakash DwivediFor State : Advocates Apurva Kumar (For UOI), Dr. K.N. Singh, ASG Ratnesh Kumar, Sr. CGC Aditya Anand, For Google : Advocate Manu Tripurari, For E.C.I. : Advocates Siddhartha Prasad, For Meta : Advocate Saket Tiwary, For Res. No. 6 : Sr. Adv Mukul Rohatgi (through V.C.), Advocates Taejesh, Saamir Ali Khan, Saket Tiwary, For Res. No. 5 : Advocates Sanjay Kumar Pandey, Pratham Sagar, Res. No. 3 : Advocate Rakesh Kumar SinghCase title - Vivekanand Singh vs. The Union Of India & OrsClick Here To Read/Download Order

Meta Assures Deletion Of AI-Video Of PM Modi's Mother Within 48 Hours As Patna High Court Warns Of Contempt Action

Sparsh Upadhyay

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