3 min readChandigarhAug 8, 2026 02:18 PM IST
First published on: Aug 8, 2026 at 02:18 PM IST
The Chandigarh District court has issued notices to Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook and Instagram) on a civil suit filed by Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who has sought removal of an allegedly AI-generated morphed video depicting him, besides permanent and mandatory injunctions, protection of his personality rights and damages.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC) Kaushal Kumar Yadav issued notice in the matter for August 12.
In his complaint, Khaira through his counsel, Advocate Sarabjot Singh Cheema, submitted that the accompanying suit seeks “permanent and mandatory injunction, takedown/removal of false, fabricated, morphed and AI-generated content, protection of the plaintiff’s reputation, dignity and personality rights and for damages.”
The complaint states that Khaira, MLA from Bholath Assembly constituency, is “a well-known public and political personality” who enjoys “reputation and recognition amongst the people of Punjab as well as the Punjabi diaspora.”
According to the suit, the operators of the Facebook page “Charda Punjab” and Instagram account “chard_apunjab” are presently unknown, with disclosure of their identity also being sought from the intermediary.
Khaira has alleged that the defendants “have published and circulated a highly objectionable, false, fabricated and AI-generated/morphed video” wherein his “face, beard and turbaned” Sikh appearance have been “digitally manipulated and superimposed upon an artificially generated body” of a woman.”
Referring to the circulation of the content, the suit claims that the impugned video had already received approximately 1.36 lakh views, 1,900 reactions and 443 shares on Facebook, while on Instagram it had received approximately 1.12 lakh views, 760 likes, 87 comments, 33 reposts and about 5,496 shares, adding that the figures were continuing to increase.
The complaint also states that the content “has therefore caused and continues to cause humiliation, mental agony, reputational injury and loss of dignity” to Khaira. It adds that the continued availability of the content is particularly harmful because viewers encountering screenshots or reposts “may have no means whatsoever of knowing that the visual representation is artificial.”
Khaira further submitted that his “name, face, photograph, likeness, voice, appearance and other identifiable attributes constitute integral aspects of his personality and identity,” and that unauthorised manipulation in a false and derogatory representation interferes with his right to control misuse of his identity.
Calling the matter “a particularly serious issue concerning misuse of generative AI,” the complaint adds that unlike ordinary written allegations, a fabricated photograph or video “purports to provide visual proof of something which never occurred and therefore possesses an enhanced capacity to mislead, humiliate and cause reputational injury.”
Khaira in his application has also relied upon the Bombay High Court judgment in Arijit Singh versus Codible Ventures LLP & Ors. concerning protection against misuse of personality attributes through artificial intelligence, deepfakes and face-morphing technology.
The complaint also states that the content "has therefore caused and continues to cause humiliation, mental agony, reputational injury and loss of dignity” to Khaira. (file) 
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