Overview
- The Supreme Court refused to admit a public interest petition and dismissed it as withdrawn on Wednesday, directing petitioners to use ordinary legal remedies before seeking extraordinary relief.
- The bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said the Article 32 petition was not maintainable and suggested the filing appeared aimed at politicising the issue rather than following statutory steps.
- The petition had sought criminal registration, urgent removal of the viral podcast clips and broad rules for online content while naming MeitY, the Home Department and major platforms as respondents.
- Multiple FIRs filed after June protests remain pending in states including Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and the influencer has publicly maintained the clips were AI-generated.
- The order foregrounds unresolved questions about how podcasts and short video clips are policed, how platforms should detect and act on alleged deepfakes, and whether new rules or faster police action will follow.