Chandigarh Court Directs Meta to Remove Defamatory AI Video of Punjab MLA Sukhpal Khaira

In a significant interim order, the Chandigarh district court on Wednesday directed Meta Platforms to take down and disable access to an allegedly defamatory, AI-generated video of Punjab Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira from two social media handles within 72 hours. The court was hearing a suit filed by Khaira seeking removal of the content, protection of his reputation, dignity and personality rights, and damages.

The Viral Video and the Suit

Khaira, the legislator from Bholath Assembly Constituency, moved the court against an objectionable morphed video that had acquired massive circulation. The clip allegedly showed his face, beard and turbaned Sikh appearance digitally manipulated and superimposed on an artificially generated body wearing an off-shoulder women's dress. According to the plaint, the video was published and circulated by the administrators of the Facebook page "Charda Punjab" and Instagram account "Chard_apunjab" — whose real names and addresses are not yet known. They have been impleaded as John Doe defendants.

The plaintiff sought a permanent and mandatory injunction, along with a direction to Meta — impleaded as defendant No.3 — to disable access to the impugned content and disclose the basic subscriber information of the login IDs operated by the unknown defendants.

What the Court Heard

Senior counsel Sarabjot Singh Cheema, appearing for Khaira, submitted that the video was false, fabricated, AI-generated and morphed, and had caused grave damage to his client's reputation at a global level. He emphasised the seriousness of the matter, noting that viewers had objected to the manner in which Khaira's turbaned Sikh appearance had been used. He prayed for ad-interim injunction and takedown of the content.

Counsel for Meta, Abhijeet Singh Rawaley, filed a memo of appearance and submitted that the platform is an intermediary with no personal knowledge of the content, but would abide by whatever order the court passed.

Prima Facie Case Established

After hearing the parties and perusing the record, Civil Judge (Junior Division) Kaushal Kumar Yadav found merit in Khaira's plea. The court observed that the content uploaded was "apparently defamatory, objectionable and AI generated" , and that the plaintiff would suffer irreparable loss and injury if it remained accessible on public platforms.

The court accordingly allowed the ad-interim injunction and directed Meta, its associates, servants, agents and all persons acting on its behalf to take down and disable access to the specific URLs of the impugned video from the Facebook page and Instagram account within 72 hours of receiving the order. The court also directed fresh notices to defendants No.1 and 2 for the next date.

Order and Next Steps

The two impugned links were specified in the order. The court also issued fresh summons to the unknown defendants through regular and dasti modes. The matter is next listed on 14 September 2026 for compliance by Meta, filing of written statement and reply to the stay application.

The ruling underlines the growing judicial recognition of personality rights in the age of deepfakes and AI-manipulated content, and sets a fast-track standard for takedowns of defamatory morphed media involving public figures.