Delhi High Court orders takedown of AI-generated video with dubious claims on Taj Lake Palace Udaipur

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered the takedown of an Instagram video uploaded by an unknown user and generated using artificial intelligence technology (AI) that made disparaging claims against the Taj Lake Palace Udaipur [The Indian Hotels Company Limited Vs. John Doe and Anr]..The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), part of the TATA Group of Companies, which owns the Taj Hotel chain, argued that the AI-generated video uploaded on the "Travelagio" Instagram account falsely claimed that staff at the hotel had poisoned wealthy guests in 2018. False, fictitious and disparaging claims were made in the video that tourists were murdered by poisoning in 2018 and that the matter was covered up, the Court was told. IHCL added that despite being entirely AI-generated and containing dubious claims, the video had been circulated widely, garnering over twenty thousand views on Instagram.It, therefore, urged the High Court to order the takedown of the video. .On October 15, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora held that, prima facie, the video was false and liable to be taken down.“This Court is of the prima facie opinion that the contents of the impugned video are false. This Court finds merit in the submission of the Plaintiff that circulation of such a false video directly infringes upon the Plaintiff’s reputation and grossly misrepresents the Plaintiff’s property Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur before the public,” the Court stated. .The Court added that irreparable loss would be caused to the Taj Hotel if such a fictitious and morphed video were allowed to continue circulating.Accordingly, the Court directed Meta (which owns Instagram) to take down the video in question within thirty-six hours.It also restrained the defendant (unknown person who uploaded the video) from broadcasting, publishing, disseminating, or distributing the video or any other content that disparages Taj or violates its trademarks on social media or online. Further, the Court has issued a summons to the uploader as well. Meta (which owns Instagram) has been directed to share the Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) details of the account holder so that the summons can be served. The case will be heard next on March 23, 2026. .Advocates Shwetasree Majumder, Prithvi Singh, Rohan Krishna Seth, Prithvi Gulati, and Ritwik Marwaha appeared for IHCL..Advocates Varun Pathak, Sana Banyal, Nivedita Sudheer appeared for Meta. .[Read order]