Misuse of deepfake during Lok Sabha polls: Delhi High Court asks lawyers’ body to give representation to EC

New Delhi, May 2

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed a lawyers’ body to give a representation to the Election Commission regarding their PIL seeking to stop circulation of deepfake videos during the ongoing Lok Sabha election.

Highlighting the urgent nature of the issue raised, a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora asked the Election Commission to promptly consider and decide the representation submitted by the petitioners.

Noting that it can’t devise a policy in the middle of elections, the Bench said it trusted the Election Commission — a constitutional body — to address the issue.

“We cannot draft a policy amid elections. Once it’s in the hands of the ECI, intervening at this stage wouldn’t be appropriate. Courts will refrain from issuing directives now. These matters should be resolved prior to elections. Courts cannot intervene at the eleventh hour. It would not be fitting for the court to interfere with the Election Commission’s jurisdiction presently. Let’s have faith in the Election Commission,” the Bench said.

Petitioner Lawyer’s Voice had moved the Delhi High Court on Wednesday seeking directions to the Election Commission to stop circulation of deepfake videos for political campaigns during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

He had said by the time any action was taken; and such videos were removed; the damage was already done as the response time was between 24 and 48 hours.

The petitioner wanted the high court to direct the Election Commission to devise and implement necessary guidelines or executive actions to combat the widespread use of deepfake technologies in the 2024 election campaign.

It had also sought directions to social media platforms to remove and block deepfake content related to political candidates or public figures until the announcement of Lok Sabha election results on June 4.