The Bombay High Court on Monday allowed Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil defamation suit against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC and other digital platforms over allegedly defamatory posts and AI-generated deepfake content. A single-judge bench of Justice Abhay Ahuja granted permission to the Bharatiya Janata Party leader to institute the civil suit, also allowing him to seek interim relief and request a temporary injunction. The content allegedly linked Gadkari and his family to profits from the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme and the E20 fuel initiative. The petition states that defamatory content has appeared on digital platforms owned by Meta, X Corp and Google, remains publicly accessible, and continues to circulate. It accuses several individuals of deliberately creating and spreading false, abusive and misleading material, including AI-generated deepfake, morphed or manipulated audio-visual content simulating Gadkari's name, image and likeness without his consent. Gadkari filed the plea through advocate Sandeep S. Ladda, seeking permission under Clause XII of the Letters Patent Act, 1866. The legal action follows a complaint filed last month by BJP Nagpur City Social Media Cell Convener Shishir Arun Tripathi.