Download the court order here: [ PDF ]

A Chandigarh court ordered the removal of an AI-generated video depicting Punjab MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira in women’s clothing from Facebook and Instagram within 72 hours, ruling the content defamatory and objectionable. In his pleadings, MLA Khaira is also seeking a permanent injunction, content removal, and protection of his reputation, dignity, and personality rights. Bar and Bench reported this first, along with the court order.

Upon hearing the case, Civil Judge Kaushal Kumar Yadav granted the ad-interim injunction on August 12. The court directed the intermediaries to remove the content from the following URLs: 

These are the concerned pages:

According to Sarabjot Singh Cheema, the MLA’s lawyer, the AI-generated content digitally superimposed Khaira’s face, beard, and turbaned Sikh appearance onto an AI-generated body wearing an off-shoulder women’s dress. He further added that the video had spread widely, damaging Khaira’s reputation globally, and that some viewers objected to the depiction of his turbaned Sikh appearance.

In the order, Judge Yadav noted that Khaira would suffer irreparable harm if the content remained accessible.

“At this stage, this Court is satisfied that the plaintiff has been able to make out a prima facie case for grant of ad-interim injunction as the content uploaded is apparently defamatory, objectionable and AI generated. The plaintiff would have suffered an irreparable loss and injury in case the impugned content continues to remain accessible and circulated on public platforms.”  – Judge Kaushal Kumar Yadav

Lawyers representing Meta said that the platform is an intermediary with no direct knowledge of the content but would comply with the court’s takedown order. The court will hear the case again on September 14, 2026. You can follow this case using case number CS CJ-1567-2026.

Questions sent to Meta: Under the recently amended IT Rules in February, intermediaries and platforms have to label the AI-generated information or, also known as, synthetically generated information (SGI). However, as MediaNama documented, almost none of the major social media platforms in India are complying with the notified SGI Rules. In this context, we sent the following questions to Meta:

  • Was the AI-generated video of MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, posted on the Facebook page “Charda Punjab” and the Instagram account “Charda_apunjab”, labeled as synthetically generated under the IT Rules, 2021? If not, why was the SGI label omitted?
  • What specific content moderation mechanisms does Meta use to detect and label AI-generated or morphed videos on Facebook and Instagram in India?  
  • Beyond the court-ordered takedown, has Meta taken further action against the concerned above-mentioned accounts?
  • Please confirm if Meta is in compliance with the February 2026 amendment to the IT Rules, which requires intermediaries to label synthetically generated information? If so, please provide data on the volume of SGI-labeled content on its platforms in India since the rules took effect?

We will update the copy once we receive the response from Meta. 

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