The Delhi High Court has stepped in to safeguard the personality rights of Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, issuing an interim order that restrains the unauthorized use of his name, image, voice, and other unique attributes for commercial purposes. The Court observed that such misuse could mislead the public into believing Bachchan endorsed certain goods or services, amounting to infringement of his rights. Justice Tejas Karia, while granting an ex parte ad interim injunction, held that the actor had established a prima facie case and that unauthorized exploitation of his persona would cause irreparable harm to his reputation, goodwill, and economic interests.

The order also prohibits the circulation of manipulated videos, GIFs, deepfakes, and other content—some of which included defamatory and sexually explicit material—that exploit Bachchan’s performances and tarnish his dignity. Bachchan’s legal team, led by Advocates Pravin Anand, Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadodia, and Dhruv Anand, argued that such misuse violated Section 38B of the Copyright Act, 1957, which protects an artist’s moral rights in their work.

The Court clarified that online platforms like Google, YouTube, Amazon, and Flipkart could be directed to take down infringing content, but only if URL-specific details were provided. It emphasized that takedown orders must be tailored to each defendant and could not be issued in a blanket manner.

The ruling echoes similar interim protection granted in a related plea by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who had sought relief against unauthorized use of her persona, AI-generated explicit content, and fraudulent activities under a fake company named “Aishwarya Nation Wealth.” Justice Karia highlighted that while a consolidated order may be desirable, reliefs must remain defendant-specific. He further noted that takedown requests could also be processed under the Blocking and Screening Instructions (BSI) framework.