The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices to prominent Cockroach Janata Party leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, a day after a case was registered against “unknown persons” after a woman alleged that her morphed image was circulated during a recent Jantar Mantar protest in New Delhi.
According to reports, the court also directed social media major Meta to remove all objectionable images of the woman from its platform within 24 hours.
The court ordered the police to provide protection to the woman and gave the Delhi Police two weeks to file a status report on the incident.
“This is an extraordinary position in which the matter is not of one woman, it is a matter about the Prime Minister of the country. If they are not sensitive, I will make sure that they are sensitive,” Delhi High Court Justice Girish Kathpalia was quoted as saying by NDTV.
The woman has alleged that the CJP leaders carried out a coordinated cyber-assault and publicly targeted her using a morphed image, reported The Times of India.
Meanwhile, the court has listed the matter for further hearing on October 14.
“The perpetrators printed physical banners of this morphed picture, paraded them in massive crowds, raised sexually suggestive and derogatory slogans, and maliciously uploaded videos onto Instagram and other social media platforms,” the woman’s plea said, reported LiveLaw.
It further alleged: “They further sank to absolute depravity by uploading and distributing the Petitioner's morphed non-consensual explicit Photos onto various pornographic websites.”
Following the woman’s complaint, the Delhi Police registered an FIR at the Cyber Police Station in New Delhi on Thursday under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“During the recent CJP protests at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, certain delinquent demonstrators and organisers unauthorisedly harvested my personal photograph. Using digital manipulation and AI 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 sensationalised picture,” the FIR read, as quoted by Hindustan Times.
NEET Protests and Dharmendra Pradhan’s Resignation
Led by the CJP, the protests over the NEET paper leak and related demands continued for weeks, with protesters demanding accountability from the government.
Former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, one of the key demands raised by the protesters.
The CJP had staged a month-long protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
The protests intensified after police used force against demonstrators during a Parliament march on July 20.
The police action triggered widespread criticism, with protests being reported in several major cities, including Mumbai, Kolkata and Patna.