Kumar Sanu Approaches Delhi High Court To Safeguard His Personality And Publicity Rights

Veteran playback singer Kumar Sanu has filed a petition before the Delhi High Court seeking legal protection for his personality and publicity rights, including his voice, name, likeness, and distinctive

singing style. The plea will be heard by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on Monday.

Kumar Sanu Seeks Legal Safeguards Against Misuse

According to the petition, filed through advocates Shikha Sachdeva and Sana Raees Khan, Sanu has requested the court to restrain any unauthorised or unlicensed use of his identity and artistic attributes for commercial gain. The singer has asked for protection against imitation of his voice, vocal techniques, interpretations, images, caricatures, photographs, and signature, among other personal identifiers.

The suit alleges that third parties have been exploiting his persona in ways that could deceive or confuse the public, leading to dilution of his reputation. It also invokes a violation of his moral rights under the Copyright Act, which protect an artist’s integrity and authorship of their performances.

AI Voice Cloning and Online Misuse

The petition highlights that several GIFs, videos, and AI-generated audios using Sanu’s likeness and voice have surfaced online, some portraying him in an unflattering or mocking manner. The singer contends that such actions not only tarnish his image but also infringe upon his creative ownership.

“Such merchandise and audios/videos of the plaintiff generate revenue for the defendants, as they are uploaded and streamed on social networking websites, including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, which generate revenue based on the number of clicks or views to a particular image/video,” the plea states.

It further adds, “Such acts also amount to an attempt at false endorsements and passing off and hence, must be restrained by an order of injunction by this court.”

Other celebs who have filed for personality rights

The petition comes amid a wave of similar legal actions from high-profile personalities seeking to curb unauthorised digital replication of their identities. Recently, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Karan Johar, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Suniel Shetty, and journalist Sudhir Chaudhary obtained interim relief from courts in similar matters.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court also protected Asha Bhosle from the use of her AI-generated voice and likeness without consent.

Understanding Personality Rights

Personality or publicity rights grant individuals control over the commercial use of their identity — including name, image, voice, and likeness — preventing misuse for profit or manipulation. These rights are typically divided into two aspects:

– Right of Publicity, which guards against unauthorised commercial exploitation, and

– Right to Privacy, which protects personal dignity from misuse through deepfakes, morphed visuals, or fabricated endorsements.