Nitin Gadkari has been given permission by the Bombay High Court to sue Meta, X and Google over AI generated deepfakes linking him to the government’s E20 ethanol blending programme. The Union Road Transport and Highways Minister moved court this week, saying the viral content falsely blames him and his family for a policy he says he has no role in. The case has drawn attention because Gadkari, and not the Petroleum Ministry, has become the public face of the E20 backlash.
What did Nitin Gadkari ask the Bombay High Court for?
Nitin Gadkari filed a civil suit before a bench of Justice Arif Doctor. He named Meta, X, Google or YouTube, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Department of Telecommunications, and unnamed persons described as “Ashok Kumar or John Doe” as defendants. He has sought permanent orders directing removal of manipulated videos, face-swap clips and posts that misuse his name, voice and image.
Gadkari’s plea says he does not want to suppress fair criticism of government policy. He argues the content in question goes beyond legitimate criticism, using abusive language and fabricated quotes that infringe his reputation and personality rights.
In his suit, Nitin Gadkari states that he has “no role or nexus whatsoever” with the Ethanol Blended Petrol programme or the E20 initiative. He says both fall exclusively within the domain of the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, currently headed by Hardeep Singh Puri, not his own Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The suit also denies claims that Gadkari’s sons benefited financially from the E20 programme through an ethanol manufacturing firm, calling such claims false imputations of corruption and conflict of interest.
Timeline of the E20 Controversy
| Date | Event |
| 2023 to 2024 | Government scales up E20 rollout nationwide, replacing E10 and E5 blends |
| September 2025 | Gadkari calls online criticism of ethanol blending a “paid campaign” at the SIAM convention |
| July 25, 2026 | Dharmendra Pradhan resigns as Education Minister after Cockroach Janta Party protests |
| July 26, 2026 | E20 Janta Party emerges on social media demanding fuel choice |
| July 27 to 28, 2026 | Bombay High Court permits Gadkari’s suit against Meta, X and Google |
Why is Nitin Gadkari being targeted instead of the petroleum ministry?
The Ethanol Blended Petrol programme is administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Even so, Gadkari has repeatedly been the public voice defending the policy, since his ministry oversees vehicle standards and fuel efficiency norms that intersect with ethanol blending. He has spoken publicly at industry forums about ethanol’s benefits for farmers and fuel imports, which appears to have made him the face critics associate with the rollout, even though the formal policy sits with the Petroleum Ministry.
Congress has separately alleged that Gadkari’s sons benefited from the ethanol policy and demanded a Lokpal probe, a claim Gadkari’s family and the government have not accepted.
What Has Nitin Gadkari Said About His Sons’ Ethanol Business?
In an interview to The Times of India, Nitin Gadkari addressed questions about his family’s sugar business directly. He said, “The sugar factory belongs to my family, and it predates the whole conversation around ethanol. That business is run by my sons,” adding that he had championed ethanol blending since long before the current debate, tracing the programme’s origins to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
Gadkari also spoke about the scale of his sons’ involvement in the ethanol business relative to the wider industry, stating that ethanol forms only a small share (10%) of their overall operations. He said the ethanol programme itself is administered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and that ethanol prices are fixed by the Union Cabinet rather than by him.
On concerns over vehicle mileage, Gadkari told the The Times of India, “There may be some loss when you are driving at high speed on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. I have always said there is a minor mileage loss due to the low calorific value of ethanol compared to petrol.” He added that the difference is not noticeable during regular city driving in Delhi or Mumbai.
Public corporate filings show that Nikhil Gadkari, the minister’s son, is the Managing Director and a promoter of Cian Agro Industries and Infrastructure Ltd, a company in the ethanol and sugar business. This is a matter of public record and has not been disputed by the family.
And when you look at the data presented on official screener website on the “CIAN Agro Industries & Infrastructure ltd” company which is allegedly getting profits from ethanol bending programme. Here’s what that data reveals:
For years (2017 through 2024), CIAN was a small, sleepy company. Sales bounced around ₹100-290 crore a year, profits were tiny (think ₹1-5 crore net profit), and margins were thin. Nothing exciting, just a small business ticking along.
Then something big happened in FY2025 and it went into overdrive in FY2026:
- Sales exploded: ₹171 crore (2024) → ₹1,029 crore (2025) → ₹2,234 crore (2026). That’s roughly a 13x jump in two years.
- Profitability got much healthier too, not just bigger. Operating margin went from 11% → 14% → 21%. So they’re not just selling more, they’re keeping a much bigger slice of every rupee as profit.
- Net profit went from ₹5 crore to ₹41 crore to ₹223 crore. That’s the real headline. Profit grew even faster than sales.
- EPS (earnings per share) jumped from ₹1.75 to ₹14.71 to ₹79.57. That’s the kind of number that gets a stock re-rated hard by the market.
Now look at the balance sheet, and it explains how this happened:
- Reserves jumped from ₹61 crore to ₹1,936 crore to ₹2,127 crore. That’s not organic profit accumulation but profits alone can’t do that. This screams a big equity raise (likely an IPO or QIP or a fresh injection of investor money into the company).
- Fixed assets shot up from ₹103 crore to ₹2,409 crore to ₹2,875 crore, with a huge chunk parked in “capital work in progress” in 2025 (₹561 crore) that mostly got completed by 2026. So the company used that fresh money to build serious new capacity like new plants, machinery, infrastructure.
- Interestingly, borrowings didn’t balloon (₹1,300 crore → ₹1,199 crore) so this expansion was funded mostly by equity, not by piling on debt. That’s a healthier way to grow.
CIAN looks like it raised a big chunk of capital (probably went public or did a large fundraise around FY2025), poured that money into new plants and capacity, and that new capacity started firing on all cylinders by FY2026 like sales tripled from the prior year, margins expanded, and profit went up nearly 5x. The company transformed from a tiny, low-margin business into a much bigger, more profitable one in a very short span.
What is the E20 Janta Party?
The E20 Janta Party is a satirical online consumer campaign that emerged on social media in July 2026. It describes itself as an independent citizens’ movement, not a political party, demanding that fuel stations offer 100 percent petrol alongside E20 blended petrol. Its central demand is consumer choice, not a rollback of ethanol blending itself.
The group has drawn comparisons to the Cockroach Janta Party, an earlier online movement that preceded the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak row. Reports indicate the E20 Janta Party is planning protests demanding Gadkari’s resignation and the option to buy unblended petrol.
What are the benefits and concerns around the E20 Policy?
The government has cited benefits such as reduced crude oil imports, higher farm incomes from maize and sugarcane, and lower vehicular emissions. Officials, including testing bodies like the Automotive Research Association of India, have said ethanol blending does not damage vehicles when used as prescribed.
Critics, including vehicle owners and opposition leaders, have raised concerns over reduced mileage, higher maintenance costs in older vehicles and lack of consumer choice at fuel stations. These concerns remain contested between the government and its critics, with no independent, conclusive public data cited by either side.
Nitin Gadkari’s Bombay High Court suit marks one of the first major test cases in India on AI deepfakes targeting a sitting minister. As the E20 Janta Party gains traction online, the debate over ethanol blending, consumer choice and ministerial accountability looks set to continue in the coming weeks.