Bombay High Court protects Asha Bhosle’s personality rights against AI misuse.The court observed, “Making AI tools to convert any voice into a celebrity’s without permission violates personality rights,” reinforcing the importance of safeguarding public figures’ personal identity and public persona.
The Bombay High Court granted playback singer Asha Bhosle temporary protection of her personality and moral rights, prohibiting AI platforms, online marketplaces, and sellers from unauthorized cloning of her voice or commercial exploitation of her image, likeness, and other attributes.
Justice Arif S Doctor stated that, prima facie, the unauthorized use of a celebrity’s personal traits such as their name, voice, photographs, caricatures, or likeness constitutes a breach of their publicity and personality rights.
The Court added,
“Making AI tools available to enable the conversion of any voice into that of a celebrity without his/ her permission would constitute a violation of the celebrity’s personality rights. Such tools facilitate the unauthorized appropriation and manipulation of a celebrity’s voice, which is a key component of their personal identity and public persona,”
Bhosle filed her petition against several defendants, including Mayk Inc., an AI company allegedly providing cloned versions of her voice; Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd and Flipkart Internet Pvt Ltd, for selling merchandise bearing her likeness without permission; an independent artist peddling apparel with her image; and Google LLC, which operates YouTube, where AI-generated videos mimicking her voice had been uploaded.
Her petition highlighted that this misuse jeopardizes her reputation and goodwill, built over an 82-year career in which she recorded songs across various genres and earned multiple accolades, including the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Padma Vibhushan, and two Grammy nominations.
The Court observed that the balance of convenience favored Bhosle and granted her ad-interim relief. Justice Doctor issued stringent directives against AI platforms and sellers (defendants 1, 2, and 5 in Bhosle’s complaint).
The Court has prohibited these defendants from using, exploiting, or misappropriating Bhosle’s name, voice, vocal style, technique, singing mannerisms, photographs, images, likeness, signature, persona, or any other personal attributes, for any commercial or personal gain.
This includes, but is not limited to, the use of AI voice models, generative artificial intelligence, machine learning, or face morphing, without her written consent.
Additionally, the Court directed the defendants to remove all infringing materials specified in Bhosle’s complaint, such as cloned voice recordings, merchandise, and digital content, and to deliver such materials, in both physical and digital forms, for destruction.
Amazon and Flipkart (defendants 3 and 4) were ordered to remove all infringing listings identified in the complaint within one week and to take down similar unauthorized listings that use Bhosle’s likeness when notified.
Google/YouTube (defendant 6) was instructed to remove specific infringing URLs mentioned in the complaint and to eliminate similar AI-generated content from YouTube upon reporting.
All platforms were also directed to provide Bhosle with essential subscriber or seller information regarding infringing parties, including names, contact details, IP logs, and payment information, so she can pursue further legal action.
In reaching its decision, the Court referenced previous rulings, such as the Bombay High Court’s decision in Arijit Singh v. Codible Ventures LLP (2024) and the Delhi High Court’s ruling in Aishwarya Rai Bachchan v. Aishwaryaworld.com (2025), which recognized unauthorized AI-driven exploitation of celebrity attributes as violations of personality rights.
Justice Doctor also noted that the absence of some defendants, despite being served with notice, only strengthened Bhosle’s case.
The matter is scheduled for a hearing on October 13, 2025.
Asha Bhosle represented by Advocate Ankit Lohia, alongside Advocates Vikram Trivedi, Rashid Boatwalla, Lipsa Unadkat, and Garima Jain, instructed by Manilal Kher Ambalal & Co. Google LLC was represented by Advocates Charu Shukla and Amishi Sodan.
Case Title: Asha Bhosle Vs Mayak Inc