New Delhi: The Patna High Court cautioned Meta Platforms Inc. that it would face suo motu contempt proceedings if the company did not comply with the court's earlier order to take down an AI-generated video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother Heeraben Modi. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Meta via video conference, gave the court an assurance that the video would be taken down within 48 hours once the URL is provided to them. The bench of Chief Justice PB Bajanthri and Justice Alok Kumar Sinha recorded this assurance. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Vivekanand Singh, who sought removal of the video that was originally shared by Bihar Congress on social media. The ruling is crucial as Bihar elections has been scheduled for November 6 and November 11, 2025, with vote counting on November 14, 2025.

What Is The Issue?

Bihar Congress had sparked a political storm after posting an AI-generated video on social media that showed characters resembling PM Narendra Modi and his late mother, Heeraben Modi, who was lambasting him over his politics, in a staged, dream-like exchange. The 36-second clip, marked“AI GENERATED,” was widely shared online, seen by the BJP as a personal attack ahead of the Bihar elections.

"Congress has lost its dominance and is resorting to cheap tactics. Sometimes they use indecent words in the name of (PM Modi's) mother. Congress has done mimicry by uploading this video on its state handle, and this is highly condemnable. In politics, when someone gets disappointed or frustrated, they resort to cheap tactics. Whatever condemnable acts Congress has done, society will also condemn them and will also teach them a lesson," Rajasthan BJP president Madan Rathore had said. 

What Did the Court Order?

On September 17, the court had ordered the social media company to halt the video's circulation, citing various Supreme Court judgments. "If respondent no. 6 (Meta) is violating the orders of this Court, he shall rectify himself, failing which suo motu contempt action would be initiated", LiveLaw reported the court as saying during the October 15 hearing. The court acknowledged arguments from Senior Advocate Santosh Kumar, representing the petitioner, who stated that despite the court's injunction, Meta's platforms (Instagram and Facebook) were still hosting the objectionable content.

The court ordered the petitioner to provide relevant documents, including a pen drive with the disputed material, to the respondents' lawyers within two days. The court also instructed the petitioner to share the URL of the controversial video with Meta, Google, and X (formerly Twitter) within two days to ensure compliance with the September 17, 2025 order. Additionally, all served respondents were allowed to file objections to both the interim applications and the main petition before the next hearing date of November 12. According to the petition, the video depicts Prime Minister Modi in a dream where his mother appears to scold him about his policies. The petitioner described the video as "disgusting, disgraceful, distasteful and dishonouring" as it violated the dignity of the Prime Minister's late mother. The petitioner also claimed that Rahul Gandhi was aware of the video being posted.

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