Amitabh Bachchan personality rights suit: a settlement with some defendants is agreed but not yet signed, and the Delhi High Court has allowed time to finish the paperwork while warning that he must come to Court in person if the suit is to go on.
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New Delhi: Giving actor Amitabh Bachchan time to formalise an amicable settlement reached with some defendants in his personality rights suit, the Delhi High Court has directed that, if the settlement is not or only partly concluded and he wishes to pursue the suit, he must remain personally present on the next date of hearing [Amitabh Bachchan v. Rajat Nagi and Others].
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the order on October 9, 2026 in CS(COMM) 819/2022 and listed the suit next for November 16, 2026.
Personal presence if the settlement falls short
The Court cited Order X Rule 2 read with Order V Rule 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and Section 168 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 for the direction. If the settlement is not or only partly concluded and the plaintiff wishes to pursue the suit, he has to be in Court himself on the next date.
“the plaintiff shall remain personally present on the next date of hearing.”
Why the settlement is not yet on record
The appearing parties told the Court that an amicable settlement had been arrived at with some of the defendants, though the order does not say which ones. The formal agreement could not yet be signed because of logistical issues on the part of the plaintiff, so the Court let him place the signed agreement on record later and listed the matter for November 16, 2026. For the defendants who have not settled, the order records no separate directions.
“owing to logistical issues on the part of the plaintiff, the settlement could not be formally signed.”
The suit so far
As the order records it, the suit seeks a permanent injunction to secure the plaintiff’s personality rights. On November 25, 2022, the Court had granted him an ex parte ad-interim injunction.
What the order signals
Personality rights suits by public figures are increasingly resolved by settlement with individual defendants while others remain on record. This order keeps the suit on a short leash: time is allowed to complete the paperwork, but a plaintiff who wants to continue against the remaining defendants must come to Court in person on the next date.
Case Title: Amitabh Bachchan v. Rajat Nagi and Others [CS(COMM) 819/2022]
Bench: Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, Delhi High Court
Date of Order: October 9, 2026
Appearances: Mr. Dhruv Anand, Mr. Dhananjay Khanna and Ms. Bhavya Verma for the plaintiff; Mr. Vinay Mohan Sharma for Defendant No. 3; Ms. Tina Garg and Mr. M.K. Ghosh for Defendant No. 5; Mr. Kushal Kumar and Mr. Rishabh Saxena for Defendant No. 8