The Delhi High Court on Thursday recorded undertakings by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka to remove AI-generated posts published on X against BJP leader and Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia.

The bench headed by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that both Das and Ranka had agreed to take down the objectionable posts on Thursday itself.

The Court also permitted Bhatia to approach Meta and X directly if identical posts are published in future. The platforms have been directed to consider such requests and take appropriate action. If they face any difficulty in removing the content, they may communicate the reasons to Bhatia, who can then approach the Court.

Bhatia had sought a dynamic injunction against the defendants. However, the Court declined to pass such a direction at this stage, observing that the matter was not an intellectual property dispute and that such relief could not be granted without hearing the other side.

The Court also issued summons to Das, Ranka and CJP founder Abhijit Dipke in Bhatia's defamation suit seeking ₹2 crore in damages and injunctive relief. The defendants were directed to file their responses.

At the hearing, the Court clarified that it was not making any adverse observations against the three CJP defendants at this stage.

"For the time being we want to make sure there is no acrimony on this issue. We are not imputing anything against anyone right now," the Court observed.

The dispute arose after an AI-generated graphic falsely attributed remarks concerning Swatantra Bhardwaj to Bhatia. Bhardwaj has been accused of assaulting the father of CJP activist Nishu Azad.

The graphic claimed that Bhatia had called Bhardwaj a "dimagi naxal". Das shared the graphic on X, following which Bhatia denied making the remarks and asked him to delete the post and issue an unconditional apology within 24 hours.

Das subsequently deleted the post and clarified that the graphic was AI-generated, while also questioning Bhatia over whether he disagreed with the AI-generated statement.

Ranka, the CJP co-convener, allegedly amplified the post by reposting the graphic from Das's account along with a caption targeting BJP leaders.

During the hearing, the Court asked Das and Ranka whether they were willing to remove the posts voluntarily, rather than requiring a judicial direction. The two eventually agreed.

The Court also urged the parties to avoid escalating the dispute, observing that there are different ways of expressing protest and that the impugned posts may not be an appropriate way to do so.

Advocate Nakul Gandhi, appearing for Dipke, submitted that Dipke had not posted anything concerning Bhatia and therefore there was no cause of action against him. The Court nevertheless issued summons to the defendants in the suit.

Bhatia also informed the Court that Das had posted another tweet concerning him while the matter was being heard, arguing that such posts could reach millions of people.

The Court, however, remarked that lampooning on social media was part of public life and that even courts faced such criticism, while acknowledging Bhatia's right to protect his reputation.

The matter will proceed after the defendants file their responses.