A petition has been submitted to the Delhi High Court under Public Interest Litigation (PIL), urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to halt the dissemination of deepfake videos during the Lok Sabha elections.

Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta presented the plea before a bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora.

Mehta informed the Bench that the PIL had been filed by a lawyers' body and emphasized the grave concern posed by the circulation of deepfake videos during the ongoing election period. He noted that the process of removing these videos consumes several hours, during which significant damage can already occur.

"The videos are creating a narrative of misinformation," he said.

The Senior Counsel added that while there exists a penal framework under the Information Technology Act to address such crimes, the process of taking action through this framework is time-consuming.

The Court ultimately stated that if the petition is found to be in order by 12:30 PM today, the case will be scheduled for a hearing tomorrow. It's worth noting that a deepfake video featuring Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently circulated widely on social media.

Police authorities in several states have initiated investigations into the matter and have issued notices to various politicians as part of their inquiries.