The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) was urged by the Delhi High Court to think about passing law to control the spread of dangerous AI manifestations like deepfake online, warning that these tools will be a "menace in society."

The government's assistant solicitor general (ASG), Chetan Sharma, was informed by a bench consisting of acting chief justice Manmohan and judge Tushar Rao Gedela that deepfake is a problem not just in India but throughout the world. "What you are seeing and hearing is all false. It is not possible."

The court stated that several political groups had approached them in opposition to deepfake shortly before the assembly elections.

The bench stated, "It is now time for the Parliament to pass some act," citing the enactment of laws in several US states. The government is you. As an organization, we are not without restrictions. You will need to take action. It will be a major threat to civilization, therefore you should start considering it.

While considering a request from Chaitanya Rohilla asking for the creation of regulations to govern AI and deepfake technologies, the court emphasized the urgent necessity to stop the proliferation of this technology. The request also asked for the identification and barring of websites that offered deepfake artificial intelligence access.

"In India, the Digital Data Protection Act, 2023 continues to raise concerns, as current rules are thought insufficient to handle deepfake manifestations. The petition stated, "It highlights the legislative gap and the necessity of the court's intervention to preserve fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution."

The Center's attorney had stated in December 2023 that the government was handling the matter.

In order to address the matter, the Center submitted a thorough affidavit in February that listed the legal and regulatory measures currently in place under the Data Protection Act of 2018 and the Information Technology Act of 2000.

In addition to citing different sections of the two statutes, the Center's 23-page response included other recommendations it had given to platforms and intermediaries to guarantee that the rules governing the improper use of artificial intelligence and deepfake content were followed.

Advocate Manohar Lal said at the Wednesday hearing that even though the plea was submitted a year ago, the threat was not as great as it is now. ASG Sharma acknowledged that the spread of deepfake technology is a problem and stated that countertechnologies are the only way to combat fake AI.

After taking into account the arguments, the court scheduled a hearing on October 8 and ordered Rohilla's attorneys to provide a follow-up affidavit with recommendations on how to address the misuse of deepfake technology within the following two weeks.