The Madras High Court has directed the police to take action against members of all political parties who publish defamatory content on social media, while hearing a petition filed by a DMK functionary alleging that complaints lodged over objectionable posts targeting the party and its leaders had not been acted upon.
The petition was filed by Chandrabose, deputy secretary of the DMK legal wing, before the Madras High Court. He alleged that AI-generated photographs and videos intended to defame the DMK and its leaders were being circulated on social media platforms, including X, Facebook and Instagram.
According to the petitioner, 17 complaints had been submitted to the Chennai Police Commissioner seeking action against individuals allegedly responsible for such posts, as well as against political parties and organisations allegedly involved in circulating them. The complaints reportedly also named groups such as Voice of Commons and Route.
The petitioner alleged that no action had been taken on the complaints so far.
He further claimed that the police were promptly registering cases against those posting comments against the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), while delaying action on the complaints submitted by the DMK.
Seeking court intervention, Chandrabose requested that the complaints be taken up for investigation and that an independent and fair probe be conducted.
The matter came up for hearing before Justice Lakshmi Narayanan on Tuesday, 15 September 2026.
Appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, State Public Prosecutor John Sathyan submitted that such social media posts were increasingly being made for publicity and that the practice had worsened in recent times.
He also informed the court that a detailed procedure was being formulated for dealing with and removing defamatory content posted on social media platforms. He sought two weeks’ time to put the procedure in place.
Accepting the request, the judge granted the police two weeks’ time and adjourned the hearing.
The court also directed the police to take action against members of all political parties who publish defamatory content on social media, rather than limiting such action to complaints involving any particular party.
The direction came in the backdrop of allegations that politically motivated and AI-generated content targeting political parties and their leaders is increasingly being circulated through social media platforms.
The case will be taken up again after two weeks.
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