New Delhi, 04 May (H.S.): The Delhi High Court has passed an interim order protecting the personality rights of Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor, directing that his name, photograph, voice and other identifying attributes must not be used without his prior permission. A bench presided over by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued an interim injunction restraining various entities from exploiting the actor’s persona commercially or otherwise.
The Court has directed Google and Meta Platforms (owner of Facebook and Instagram) to remove online content that uses Arjun Kapoor’s name, image or voice without authorisation. The bench has also ordered the tech companies to provide the Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) of social‑media accounts that are circulating infringing material, so that the defendants can be identified for further legal action.
The Court dismissed the social‑media platforms’ argument that some of the challenged posts were merely satirical or humorous, noting that a substantial portion of the content involved the actor’s name and image in an obscene or demeaning manner. The judges observed that while public figures are subject to criticism and parody, the use of a personality for commercial gain or to create vulgar, pornographic or AI‑morphed (deepfake‑style) material crosses the line and impinges on their right to privacy and reputation.
The interim order recognises that a person’s name, likeness, voice and other attributes form part of their “personality rights” or “publicity rights,” and that any unauthorised commercial or exploitative use of these identifiers constitutes actionable infringement. The Court has made it clear that no defendant is entitled to sell merchandise, circulate videos or advertise services using Arjun Kapoor’s identity unless it has an explicit licence or consent from the actor.
The judgment also notes that the actor has flagged AI‑generated deepfakes and explicit content circulating online, which the Court has treated as particularly serious invasions of personality and privacy. The bench has directed the immediate takedown of such obscene material while allowing the larger case to proceed on its merits.
The Delhi High Court has, in the past few years, issued similar protective orders for the personality rights of several prominent personalities, including Telugu actor Allu Arjun, Carnatic vocalist Anirudhacharya, Malayalam star Mohanlal, cricket‑team head coach and former MP Gautam Gambhir, yoga‑guru Baba Ramdev, Ayurveda‑brand Acharya Balakrishna, actresses Sonakshi Sinha and Kajol, actor Vivek Oberoi, Telugu actor and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, actor Salman Khan, actor Ajay Devgn, actor–MP Jaya Bachchan, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Telugu actor Nagarjuna, actor Aishwarya Rai, actor Abhishek Bachchan and producer Karan Johar.
In each of these cases, the Court has held that third parties cannot exploit a celebrity’s identity for commercial gain without consent, and that unauthorised use of their name, image or voice in advertising, merchandise or online content is liable to be restrained.
Today’s order in the Arjun Kapoor case consolidates that line of precedent, while explicitly addressing the new challenges posed by AI‑generated content, deepfakes and social‑media defamation, and sets a clear boundary for the unauthorised use of a public figure’s identity.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
