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The Delhi High Court has stepped in to safeguard Abhishek Bachchan’s identity, granting him interim protection over his personality rights. The court has barred
several parties from using his name, photos, voice, initials, or any other traits closely linked to him for commercial benefit without his approval. The order came as an ex parte ad interim injunction, meaning it was passed without hearing the other side, after the court observed that Abhishek had shown a strong initial case in his favour.
Delhi HC on Abhishek Bachchan's personality rights protection
It held that the unauthorised exploitation or misappropriation of his personality attributes amounted to infringement and could mislead the public into believing that he was endorsing the goods or services being circulated.
"The unauthorised misuse of Abhishek Bachchan's name and personality attributes constitutes infringement and creates confusion in the public perception of endorsement," the bench observed, adding that irreparable loss, damage, and injury would be caused to his economic interests, goodwill, reputation, and prestige if immediate protection was not granted.
The Court also restrained the defendants from disseminating any product or content through any medium, technology, or format that could result in dilution of Bachchan's public persona.Justice Tejas Karia, while recording submissions from Bachchan's counsel, emphasised that platforms like Google could be directed to take down infringing content if URL-specific details were provided.
"We can ask Google to take down. But you have to give a URL specific to each defendant. YouTube, Amazon, and Flipkart are mentioned in the petition, but this order cannot be granted generally. It has to be divided defendant-wise," 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 plea had highlighted the circulation of manipulated videos, GIFs, and deepfakes based on his films, many of which included sexually explicit and defamatory material.The petition also invoked Section 38B of the Copyright Act, 1957, arguing violation of his moral rights in performances and contending that the manipulated clips not only exploit his work but also lower his dignity by portraying him in false and unsavoury contexts.
The Court's order echoes its similar observations in the petition moved by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, which was heard on September 9.Justice Karia indicated that her matter too would attract interim protection against misuse of her name, images, and AI-generated explicit content. The Court noted that her case involved fraudulent merchandise and even impersonation in the name of a fake company, Aishwarya Nation Wealth.
While the Court acknowledged the desirability of a single consolidated order, it stressed that reliefs had to be tailored defendant-wise, and takedown directions would require specific URLs or could otherwise be processed through the Blocking and Screening Instructions (BSI) framework.The matter has been scheduled for further proceedings on January 15, 2026.
Inputs Credit: ANI
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