Bombay High Court Permits Nitin Gadkari to File Civil Suit Over E20 Social Media Claims

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has approached the Bombay High Court seeking to institute a civil suit against Meta Platforms, X Corp, Google LLC, and unidentified entities over social media posts and AI-generated deepfake content linking him and his family to financial gains from the E20 ethanol blending program. Justice Abhay Ahuja granted Gadkari leave to file the civil defamation suit under Clause XII of the Letters Patent, addressing jurisdictional requirements for online content accessible both within Mumbai and across the country.

The lawsuit asserts that the disputed digital material, which includes manipulated videos, imagery, and posts, falsely portrays Gadkari and his family as profiting from the national fuel initiative. The plea emphasizes that the Ethanol Blended Petrol program and the E20 rollout are designed and administered exclusively by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, clarifying that Gadkari holds no administrative role or official nexus with the policy's implementation.

Represented by advocate Sandeep S. Ladda, the petition states that the action is targeting unauthorized exploitation of personality rights, abusive language, and fabricated media rather than bona fide public debate or legitimate criticism of government policy. The suit seeks permanent and mandatory injunctions directing digital platforms to remove and block the circulation of the content, citing irreparable harm to public reputation.