Now Reading: Madras HC grants bail to man in fake AI video scam of CM Joseph Vijay
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Madras HC grants bail to man in fake AI video scam of CM Joseph Vijay
The Story in Brief
The Madras High Court on Friday, 23 October 2026, granted conditional bail to J Shyabu Khan, a Rajasthan man arrested for allegedly using AI-generated videos of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay to scam people. Justice N Ramesh directed Khan to report daily to the jurisdictional police and furnish two sureties, including one blood surety.
Khan was arrested on 12 September by the CB-CID Cyber Crime Cell and has been in judicial custody since. The court noted the investigation is complete, the chargesheet is ready, and the mobile phone used in the alleged offence has been seized. The prosecution says Khan created two fake Facebook profiles impersonating the Chief Minister and collected Rs 16,000 as 'registration fees' by circulating the AI videos.
Khan's bail plea was rejected by a sessions court on 14 October because the probe was then ongoing. His counsel argued a friend made the videos without Khan's knowledge and that he was falsely implicated. The government opposed bail, but the court was inclined to grant it considering the completed investigation and the length of custody.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The two court-reporting outlets are essentially identical in content, both reproducing the bail order, the judge's conditions, the charges, the prosecution's account of the scam, and the accused's defence that a friend made the videos. LiveLaw stresses the court's observation that the investigation is complete and the mobile phone seized, while New Indian Express leads with the length of incarceration as a factor. Neither outlet adopts a critical or pro-government stance, both are straight, neutral court reports. The uniform coverage leaves no framing gap, only a consistent narrative: a bail was granted pending trial because custody had passed 40 days and the probe was finished. The next date in court is not named in either account.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): livelaw.in (neutral report), newindianexpress.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
