A popular dance number, a routine internet scroll, and suddenly a shocking AI manipulation pops up on your feed. That is exactly what happened when an artificial intelligence-generated morphed video of the chartbuster song Chuttamalle from the movie Devara: Part 1 began circulating online. The video, which digitally distorted scenes featuring actress Janhvi Kapoor alongside Telugu superstar Jr NTR, triggered massive outrage across social media platforms.
Jr NTR did not hold back. Taking to his official social media handle, the actor slammed the creators, calling the clip “disgusting, sick, and shameless.” He openly promised strict legal action against anyone involved in manufacturing and distributing the manipulated video, while urging authorities to enforce stringent AI regulations. But beyond the celebrity outrage lies a much bigger question for everyday citizens: what happens under Indian law when someone creates or shares a deepfake?
The Rising Menace of Synthetic Media
Deepfakes use artificial intelligence and machine learning to swap faces, clone voices, or fabricate realistic video sequences without the subject’s consent. While the technology holds creative potential for cinema and digital art, its dark side is spreading much faster. Digital manipulators frequently weaponize AI tools to create sexually suggestive, defamatory, or compromising clips targeting women.
In his statement, Jr NTR highlighted this cultural and personal violation, pointing out that disrespecting women through digital trickery is an alarming trend that could strike anyone’s family member tomorrow. He also issued an important appeal: do not watch, engage with, or forward such manipulated content. As it turns out, Indian law takes that advice very seriously as well.
What The Law Says: The Information Technology Act
India does not yet have a standalone statute titled the “Deepfake Prevention Act,” but existing digital and criminal statutes cover substantial ground. When someone creates or circulates a non-consensual morphed video, several provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 kick in immediately:
- Section 66E (Violation of Privacy): Capturing, publishing, or transmitting images of private areas of a person without their consent is punishable with imprisonment up to three years or a fine up to two lakh rupees, or both.
- Section 66D (Cheating by Personation): Using a computer device or communication network to impersonate someone else carries a jail term of up to three years.
- Section 67 and 67A (Publishing Obscene or Sexually Explicit Material): Transmitting obscene or sexually explicit content electronically carries severe penalties, ranging from three to five years of imprisonment alongside heavy fines.
Criminal Charges Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)
Beyond cyber laws, creating and sharing deepfakes invokes criminal provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), which replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC):
- Insulting the Modesty of a Woman (Section 79 BNS): Formerly covered under Section 509 of the IPC, this section penalizes any word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman, carrying a prison sentence of up to three years.
- Voyeurism (Section 77 BNS): Mirroring the old Section 354C IPC, capturing or disseminating images of a woman engaged in private acts without consent is a serious criminal offense.
- Forgery and Identity Tampering (Section 336 BNS): Fabricating electronic records to cause harm or practice fraud reflects the old forgery provisions under IPC Section 463. Creating a fake video that pretends to show real actions fits within digital forgery.
- Criminal Defamation (Section 356 BNS): Anyone making or publishing a false imputation to harm a person’s reputation can face up to two years of imprisonment, community service, or a fine (previously Section 499 and 500 of the IPC).
Intermediary Liability: Can Social Media Platforms Be Sued?
Under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, social media platforms (known legally as intermediaries) do not enjoy absolute immunity when illegal content surfaces. If an intermediary receives a complaint regarding content that depicts an individual in a morphed, nude, or partially nude form, it is legally required to pull down or disable access to that material within 24 hours.
If platforms fail to act promptly after receiving official notices or complaints from the victim, they can lose their “safe harbor” protection under Section 79 of the IT Act. Once safe harbor is stripped, the platform itself can be treated as a party to the offense in court.
The Fundamental Right to Privacy
In the landmark 2017 K.S. Puttaswamy verdict, the Supreme Court of India affirmed that the right to privacy is an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. Morphed videos and deepfakes directly violate this guarantee by hijacking a person’s bodily autonomy, personal dignity, and digital identity.
Courts have increasingly recognized that individuals possess personality rights and publicity rights. A person retains the exclusive authority to control how their likeness, voice, and image are commercially exploited or publicly displayed.
Why This Matters For You
Many internet users assume that merely clicking “forward” or sharing a link on a messaging group carries no legal responsibility. That assumption is dangerously incorrect. Under Indian cyber law, transmitting or circulating illicit and obscene digital media is an offense alongside creating it.
If you encounter a deepfake or morphed image online, the correct response is to report it directly to the host platform and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) rather than forwarding it to others. Digital footprints are traceable, and forwarding illicit morphed media can land an ordinary user in serious legal trouble.
Story reported by Latest and Trending Entertainment News, Celebrity News, Movie News, Breaking News | Entertainment – Times of India. This article is BareLaw’s independent explanation and analysis.
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