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High reported severity Investigation Opened

Delhi court orders takedown and protection after alleged AI sexual-image abuse

A woman in Delhi alleged that AI-altered sexual imagery prompted harassment and threats. The High Court ordered removal of the material and police protection. Her identity was protected in the proceedings.

AI system
Unidentified image tool
Occurred
Jul 2026
Reported
24 September 2026
Event location
India
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Exploitation or AbusePsychological DistressReputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Privacy · Justice · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 9 sources, 7 underlying accounts
5 claims: 4 corroborated, 1 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: AI face-swapping tools (unidentified) used, according to the complaint and petition, to morph the complainant's face onto a vulgar image; described as an AI-generated deepfake in court and press reporting

What Happened

A woman in Delhi alleged that AI-altered sexual imagery prompted harassment and threats. The High Court ordered removal of the material and police protection. Her identity was protected in the proceedings.

Reported harm

The complainant reports that an AI-morphed vulgar image of her was paraded on banners before crowds with sexually suggestive slogans, circulated on Instagram and pornographic websites, and followed by threats of rape, acid attack and death that confined her to her home; she describes absolute distress, fear and trauma (her FIR as quoted by the Hindustan Times; her petition as reported by LiveLaw, Bar and Bench and PTI). The High Court found sufficient urgency to order a takedown and police protection; the allegations remain under investigation.

Outcome

Ongoing

A woman in Delhi alleged that AI-altered sexual imagery prompted harassment and threats. The High Court ordered removal of the material and police protection. Her identity was protected in the proceedings.

What remains unknown

  • Who created, printed and displayed the morphed image; the FIR names no accused and the four functionaries named in the complaint and plea have not responded publicly in the reports read.
  • The exact date of the protest at which the banners were displayed: the petition says July 2026 (Ommcom News) while the Hindustan Times refers to 'recent' CJP protests.
  • Whether Meta complied with the 24-hour takedown and whether the pornographic-website uploads have been removed.
  • The tool used; no forensic finding on the image's creation is reported.
  • The content of the police status report due within a week and any arrests; next hearing 14 October 2026.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The complainant's FIR and petition say her face was morphed onto the image with 'AI face-swapping tools' (FIR quoted by the Hindustan Times; petition quoted by LiveLaw and PTI); the police said they are probing the creation of the 'morphed' image and the court called it deepfake content. No forensic finding on how the image was made is reported.

5 claims: 4 corroborated, 1 reported. What the statuses mean

Corroborated Delhi police registered an FIR in September 2026 on a woman’s complaint that her photograph had been altered with AI into sexual imagery and displayed at a political protest.

Causal attribution. Police statements to the Hindustan Times, PTI and The Tribune; the FIR text as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

  • hindustantimes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'the FIR at cyber police station in New Delhi district has been registered against unknown persons under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act'; 'the [identifying detail withheld] [identifying detail withheld]'
  • newindianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The FIR was lodged at the Cyber police station, New Delhi, on Thursday under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).'; 'The FIR, however, lists the accused as unidentified'
  • tribuneindia.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The FIR was registered at the Cyber Police Station on September 24 under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the BNS.'
Reported The complainant alleges that protest organisers and demonstrators took her personal photograph without consent, used AI face-swapping tools to morph her face onto a vulgar image alongside the Prime Minister, printed it on banners paraded before crowds with sexually suggestive slogans, recorded and circulated videos on Instagram, and (per her petition) uploaded the images to pornographic websites, after which she received threats of rape, acid attack and death and stayed confined at home; she describes absolute distress, fear and trauma. The petition dates the protest to July 2026 and says she approached the police on 23 September 2026.

Causal attribution. The complainant's own allegations in her FIR and petition, as quoted by the press; under police investigation; the CJP had not commented.

  • hindustantimes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Using digital manipulation and Al face-swapping tools, they morphed my face directly onto an image alongside the Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, fabricating a completely false, compromising, and sensationalized picture'; 'publicly displayed, waved, and paraded these banners before huge crowds at [identifying detail withheld], raising derogatory slogans and making vulgar, sexually suggestive comments against me'; 'absolute distress, fear, and trauma'
  • hindustantimes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'They further sank to absolute depravity by uploading and distributing the petitioner's morphed non-consensual explicit photos onto various pornographic websites,'; 'she has been bombarded with explicit messages containing explicit threats of rape, gang-rape, acid attacks, and physical elimination from anonymous accounts'
  • barandbench.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'she has since received a barrage of messages threatening rape, gang rape, acid attacks and death, forcing her to remain confined to her home'
  • ommcomnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'the alleged incident took place in July during a CJP protest, following which the petitioner approached the police on September 23 after facing severe online harassment and threats of sexual assault'
Corroborated On 25 September 2026 Justice Girish Kathpalia of the Delhi High Court directed Meta Platforms to remove the objectionable content within 24 hours, directed the Delhi Police to give the petitioner complete protection and file a status report within a week, issued notice to the four CJP functionaries named in the plea and to Meta, ordered the registry to redact the impugned web links from the petition (PTI reports her name as well), observed that she retains a right to claim compensation from the demonstration's organisers, and (per PTI and Ommcom News) listed the matter for 14 October 2026.

Causal attribution. Court order as reported by LiveLaw, Bar and Bench, PTI and Ommcom News; the order document itself was not inspected.

  • livelaw.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The court also issued notice to Meta Platforms and directed the platform to immediately remove within 24 hours the access to the "objectionable content"'; 'IO shall also transmit a copy of this order to the said SHO who is directed to'; 'The court directed the police to file a status report within one week detailing the exact action taken. The court also directed the Registry to redact all the impugned web links from the petition and the annexures.'
  • barandbench.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The status report be filed by R1 (Delhi Police) within a week, detailing the exact action taken.'; 'The Court also directed Meta to immediately remove the objectionable content in question from the social media platforms managed by it and issued notice to the CJP activists.'
  • newindianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The court listed the matter for further hearing on October 14'; 'The court registry was also directed to redact the woman's name and web links from the petition and its annexures.'
  • ommcomnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'posted the matter for further hearing on October 14'; 'the petitioner would have the right to claim compensation from the organisers of the demonstration'
Corroborated At the hearing the Delhi Police told the court that the FIR had been registered the previous day and that action would be taken expeditiously.

Causal attribution. Police submission recorded in the order, as quoted by LiveLaw, Bar and Bench and Ommcom News.

  • livelaw.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Learned ASC on behalf of Delhi Police accepts notice and submits that since FIR was registered yesterday itself, the action shall be taken expeditiously as possible,'
  • barandbench.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Learned Additional Standing Counsel for Delhi Police accepts notice and submits that since the FIR was registered yesterday itself, the action shall be taken as expeditiously as possible.'
  • ommcomnews.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Delhi Police accepts notice and submits that since FIR was registered yesterday itself, the action shall be taken as expeditiously as possible,'
Corroborated The FIR lists the accused as unidentified; the police had not named anyone as an accused at the time of the 24 September reports, and the petition says no arrests had been made by 25 September.

Causal attribution. PTI's and the Hindustan Times' police accounts (24 September) for the FIR; the petition's own statement (HT, 25 September) for the absence of arrests.

  • newindianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The FIR, however, lists the accused as unidentified and police have not, at this stage, named anyone as an accused in the case.'
  • hindustantimes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'the FIR at cyber police station in New Delhi district has been registered against unknown persons'
  • hindustantimes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'It said that even after the registration of the FIR, neither have the prime accused been arrested nor have notices been issued to Meta to take down the deepfakes.'

Sources

9 sources inspected, from 7 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read live on 2026-09-26 (Hindustan Times, 24 September 2026; html lang=en). Quotes the FIR 'accessed by HT' and an anonymous police officer; gives the complainant's age, occupation and locality. Applies to s1.

Read live on 2026-09-26 (The New Indian Express, 24 September 2026, PTI copy; html lang=en). Police account of the complaint and the FIR; names the complainant, which is not carried here. Applies to s2.

Read live on 2026-09-26 (The Tribune, 24 September 2026). Short item: FIR against unidentified individuals registered on 24 September under the IT Act 2000 and the BNS. Bylined Tribune News Service but its text tracks the PTI copy; treated as a separate outlet with that doubt recorded (the FIR claim rests on HT and PTI in any case). Applies to s3.

Read live on 2026-09-26 (LiveLaw, 25 September 2026). Court reporting with dictated passages of Justice Kathpalia's order and the oral exchanges. Applies to s4.

Read live on 2026-09-26 via the AMP path (Bar and Bench, 25 September 2026). Court reporting: Division Bench listing, the order's operative parts, counsel's submissions and the petition's allegations. Applies to s5.

Read live on 2026-09-26 (Ommcom News, 25 September 2026). Carries the order's protection paragraph, the 14 October date, the petition's statement that the incident took place in July and that she approached the police on 23 September. Applies to s6.

Read live on 2026-09-26 (Hindustan Times, 25 September 2026). Own report of the order and the petition's allegations, including the pornographic-website and threat allegations. Applies to s7.

Read live on 2026-09-26 (The New Indian Express, 25 September 2026, 'according to PTI'). Order summary: Meta 24-hour removal, notice to four CJP leaders, status report in a week, 14 October listing, registry redaction of the woman's name. Applies to s8.

Read live on 2026-09-26 via the AMP path (AajTak, 25 September 2026; Hindi; own byline). Reports the High Court's agreement to hear the petition the same day, the petition's AI-technology allegation and its July date; its headline describes the FIR as against three named activists and gives an FIR number, which conflicts with the 'unknown persons' FIR reported by HT and PTI and is not carried. Translation by the reviewer; no human translator. Applies to s9.

Event countries: India. Affected-person countries: India. Court countries: India.

The banners were displayed at [identifying detail withheld], New Delhi (FIR quoted by the Hindustan Times; PTI); the complainant is described as a Delhi resident (Hindustan Times; her exact locality is withheld here because the court directed that her address not be furnished); the FIR is at the New Delhi cyber police station and the order is from the Delhi High Court (LiveLaw, Bar and Bench).

Reviewed for publication 2026-09-26: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a depicted-person case with an FIR and a High Court takedown and protection order: the complainant's allegations are recorded as reported and attributed to her FIR and petition; the FIR and the order are corroborated across independent police reporting (Hindustan Times, PTI, The Tribune) and independent court reporting (LiveLaw, Bar and Bench, PTI, Ommcom). The complainant and the respondents are not named.

People described

A woman in Delhi whose identity was protected in court proceedings.

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One depicted person, the complainant/petitioner (FIR quoted by the Hindustan Times; petition reported by LiveLaw and PTI). Exact 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfake#face-swap#non-consensual-imagery#protest#india#delhi#high-court#takedown-order#police-protection

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Delhi court orders takedown and protection after alleged AI sexual-image abuse. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-delhi-alleged-ai-image-abuse-court-protection

BibTeX

@misc{2026_delhi_alleged_ai_image_abuse_court_protection,
  title = {Delhi court orders takedown and protection after alleged AI sexual-image abuse},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-delhi-alleged-ai-image-abuse-court-protection}
}

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