New Delhi, August 4, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Delhi High Court has directed Meta Platforms Inc. to remove two alleged AI-generated videos involving former Union Minister and five-time Lok Sabha MP Saleem Iqbal Shervani, after he claimed that the content falsely portrayed him as linked to deceased gangster Atiq Ahmed and caused serious damage to his reputation.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, while hearing Shervani’s plea, passed an interim order directing Meta to take down the videos from Facebook and Instagram within 36 hours. The court also restrained the alleged creators and persons who republished the videos from uploading or circulating the content further until further directions.
“It appears appropriate to direct Defendant No.1 to take down the following URLs… in 36 hours. Defendants 2 and 3 are restrained from republishing or publishing the videos until further orders,” the court said.
The Bench further allowed Shervani to approach Meta if the allegedly defamatory videos are uploaded or circulated again by any other individual or entity.
In his suit, Shervani, 73, alleged that the two videos were posted on July 13 by a person claiming to be a journalist associated with the “Jan Chaupal Post” Facebook and Instagram accounts. He alleged that the videos were completely generated through artificial intelligence and falsely depicted him as having close links with Atiq Ahmed.
According to the petition, the videos used AI-generated images, voice, dialogues and scenes to portray Shervani as a factory owner who allegedly sought Atiq Ahmed’s help to violently suppress a workers’ strike and later assisted the gangster in expanding his criminal influence in Allahabad, now known as Prayagraj.
Calling the videos “completely fabricated”, the plea stated that none of the incidents shown in the content ever occurred. Shervani also asserted that throughout his more than four-decade public career, he had “never had any association whatsoever with Atiq Ahmed or with any criminal”.
The former Union Minister further alleged that the videos attempted to provoke communal tensions by showing fictional characters from different religious communities and depicting violence between them to attract online attention.
The plea claimed that despite legal notices being issued, the videos remained available on Meta’s platforms and were not removed even after the company was informed.
Shervani has sought disclosure of Basic Subscriber Information of the accounts involved in publishing and republishing the videos, an unconditional public apology, and damages of Rs 2.01 crore from the alleged creators and republishers.
The case names Meta Platforms Inc. as Defendant No. 1, Rahul Mishra, who allegedly operates the “Jan Chaupal Post” Facebook and Instagram accounts, as Defendant No. 2, and Ranjeet Singh, accused of republishing the videos, as Defendant No. 3. Unknown entities have also been included as John Doe defendants.
Advocates J Amal Anand, Abhishek Singh, KV Vibu Prasad, Elvin Joshy, Shivani Kalra and Akshat Mishra appeared for Saleem Iqbal Shervani.
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