The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan for allegedly sharing a digitally manipulated video of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, which purportedly contained remarks critical of India.
The case was registered at the Special Cell police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, following a cyber patrol on November 3. Police said they came across a social media post by the handle @thequotesnews, which alleged that a doctored video of Lavrov had been shared from Bhushan's X account, @pbhushan1.
In a statement posted on X, Delhi Police said: “On 03.11.2026, during cyber patrolling, it came to notice that the social media handle @thequotesnews has claimed that a purported doctored video of the Russian Foreign Minister, hostile to India, was shared from Prashant Bhushan's handle @pbhushan1.”
The police said the video was allegedly used to disseminate misleading, defamatory and inflammatory material, with the potential to incite public disturbance and spread rumours.
“Through the said video, there is an allegation of disseminating misleading, defamatory, and inflammatory content to incite public disturbance and spread rumors. In this regard, a case under Section 336(4)/353(1)(c)/356/340(2) BNS and 66C IT Act has been registered as FIR No. 263/26 at PS Special Cell,” the statement added.
The FIR invokes Sections 336(4), 353(1)(c), 356 and 340(2) of the BNS, along with Section 66C of the Information Technology Act. Police are examining the purported video and investigating how it was circulated on social media.
The development comes after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) debunked the digitally manipulated clip, which falsely attributed critical remarks about India's internal affairs and its purchase of Russian oil to Lavrov.
MEA flags fake Jaishankar post on Russia-Ukraine conflict
Separately, the MEA Fact Check Unit on Tuesday flagged another misleading social media post, which falsely attributed remarks to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar about his alleged disappointment with Lavrov's response to an appeal for peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Calling the post “fake”, the fact-checking unit urged social media users to remain cautious about malicious content circulating online.
The fabricated post featured a purported statement by Jaishankar following his participation in the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, the United States, on October 30 and 31. It claimed that he had appealed to Russia and Ukraine to recognise that war brought only economic hardship and destruction, and had expressed disappointment over what it described as the Russian foreign minister's sarcastic and disrespectful reaction.
The misleading post carried the following purported statement: “We called on both Russia and Ukraine to understand that war serves no one and only brings economic hardship and destruction. I am deeply disappointed by the Russian minister’s sarcastic and disrespectful reaction to my sincere appeal for peace.”
However, the original footage showed Jaishankar discussing India's diplomatic engagement with Russia, Ukraine and European countries over the conflict. He said the discussions covered three aspects: protecting civilian shipping and seafarers from attacks, restoring grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, and energy, which he described as the “most complicated” issue.
“I had gone earlier to Moscow, and even today I discussed it with Mr Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov), and then in between I had gone to Kyiv, and we are in touch with the Ukrainian side. We have also been coordinating this with the Americans because they have their own peace mediation initiative,” Jaishankar said.
The MEA's clarification came amid the circulation of fabricated material attributed to senior Indian and Russian officials, with the Delhi Police now investigating the alleged sharing of the manipulated Lavrov video from Bhushan's social media account.