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The Delhi High Court has intervened to protect Abhishek Bachchan’s identity, providing him with temporary safeguards regarding his personality rights.
The court has prohibited various parties from utilizing his name, images, voice, initials, or any other characteristics closely associated with him for commercial purposes without his consent. This ruling was issued as an ex parte ad interim injunction, meaning it was granted without hearing from the opposing side, after the court noted that Abhishek had presented a compelling initial case in his favor.
Delhi HC on Abhishek Bachchan's personality rights protection
The court determined that the unauthorized use or appropriation of his personality traits constituted infringement and could mislead the public into thinking that he was endorsing the products or services being offered.
"The unauthorized exploitation of Abhishek Bachchan's name and personality traits constitutes infringement and leads to confusion regarding public endorsement," the bench remarked, adding that failing to provide immediate protection would result in irreparable harm, damage, and injury to his economic interests, goodwill, reputation, and standing.
The Court also prohibited the defendants from distributing any product or content through any medium, technology, or format that could dilute Bachchan's public image. Justice Tejas Karia, while noting submissions from Bachchan's legal team, stressed that platforms like Google could be instructed to remove infringing content if URL-specific information was provided.
"We can request Google to remove content. However, you must provide a URL specific to each defendant. YouTube, Amazon, and Flipkart are mentioned in the petition, but this order cannot be issued generally. It must be tailored to each defendant," the judge clarified. Bachchan is represented by a legal team led by Advocates Pravin Anand, Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadodia, Dhruv Anand, and others. His recent petition highlighted the spread of altered videos, GIFs, and deepfakes derived from his films, many of which contained sexually explicit and defamatory content. The petition also referenced Section 38B of the Copyright Act, 1957, claiming a violation of his moral rights in performances and arguing that the altered clips not only exploit his work but also diminish his dignity by depicting him in false and inappropriate contexts.
The Court's ruling reflects its similar comments in the petition filed by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, which was considered on September 9. Justice Karia indicated that her case would also warrant interim protection against the misuse of her name, images, and AI-generated explicit content. The Court noted that her situation involved fraudulent merchandise and even impersonation under the guise of a fictitious company, Aishwarya Nation Wealth.
While the Court recognized the need for a single consolidated order, it emphasized that reliefs must be customized for each defendant, and takedown orders would require specific URLs or could otherwise be processed through the Blocking and Screening Instructions (BSI) framework. The case has been set for further proceedings on January 15, 2026.
Inputs Credit: ANI
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