‘Investigation complete, no recovery’: Delhi court grants bail to man who allegedly posted morphed photo of PM Modi on X
The allegedly AI-generated photo purported to show the Prime Minister ‘bowing’ to the actor Shah Rukh Khan. Police alleged the post was ‘objectionable and likely to promote disharmony’
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 3, 2026 04:40 PM IST
According to the prosecution, Shaikh had reposted an AI-generated image on February 1, that allegedly depicted the Prime Minister as “bowing” before Khan. (File Photo)
A court in Delhi has granted regular bail to a 34-year-old man who was arrested last month for allegedly re-posting on the social media platform X an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image that purported to show Prime Minister Narendra Modi bowing to the actor Shah Rukh Khan.
The court observed that the Delhi Police had completed their investigation in the case without making any recoveries and there was no likelihood of the accused tampering with the evidence.
Police had charged the accused, Mujahid Jamal Shaikh, with offences including criminal defamation and promoting hatred. According to the prosecution, Shaikh had reposted an AI-generated image on February 1, that allegedly depicted the Prime Minister as “bowing” before Khan. The post was “objectionable and likely to promote disharmony”, the police said.
In his order dated March 28, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler of Patiala House Court said “…the Court is satisfied that: (i) investigation qua the applicant is complete; (ii) police custody remand was taken but no recovery was effected; (iii) the applicant himself closed/ deactivated the X account on 14.03.2026 at the instance of the first IO (Investigating Officer), and later reactivated the same only upon the request of the present IO for the purpose of investigation”.
The order noted that “the applicant has deep roots in society, is the sole bread-earner of his family, and there is no likelihood of his absconding or tampering with evidence”.
The court recorded that the accused had no previous involvement in a criminal case, and that his alleged offence was limited only to posting the Al-generated image in question.
Therefore, the order said, “this Court is of the considered opinion that the applicant deserves to be released on regular bail.”
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Shaikh was booked by the Delhi Police Special Cell under Sections 336(4) (forgery), 356(2) (criminal defamation) and 353(2) (promoting hatred) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) along with Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The FIR was registered on February 18 and Shaikh’s mobile phone was seized on March 12. He was arrested from his residence on March 18 and subsequently sent to police custody. He had been in judicial custody since March 20.
While granting bail to Shaikh, the court also took note of a disputed document relating to the purported “grounds of arrest”. The accused had submitted the document, which was purportedly signed by a police officer, but the police had claimed that it was not a part of the official record.
The court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the authenticity of the purported document. “If necessary, opinion of a handwriting expert may be obtained,” the court said.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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