India, July 28 -- The Bombay High Court on Monday allowed Union minister Nitin Gadkari to file a civil defamation suit against Meta Platforms, X Corp, Google LLC and other social media platforms over posts and AI-generated deepfake videos that allegedly falsely linked him and his family members to India's ethanol-blended petrol (EBP) programme.

Gadkari, the Union minister for road transport and highways, has alleged that the posts falsely claimed he was responsible for implementing the EBP and that he and his family have financially benefited from it.

A single-judge bench of justice Abhay Ahuja granted Gadkari permission to file the suit, enabling him to seek interim relief, including a temporary injunction against the allegedly defamat...