Today, On 15th September, Karan Johar moves Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights. He wants to stop unauthorized memes, fan pages, merchandise, and exploitation of his image on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.”
Filmmaker and TV personality Karan Johar approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights, following similar actions taken by Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan.
The case was heard today, with Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao representing Johar.
He alleged that his name is being exploited to generate funds.
He stated,
“These are websites where my photos are downloaded. Various pages on various [social media] platforms are in my name,”
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, responded in court, arguing that many of the comments flagged in Johar’s lawsuit are not defamatory.
Advocate Varun Pathak emphasized that issuing a blanket injunction could lead to excessive litigation. He said,
“These are ordinary people having comments and having discussion. Now to drag them to Court for making an ordinary joke,”
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora concurred, noting that not all fan pages can be subject to blocking or removal.
Justice Arora remarked,
“Mr. Rao, you have to look at two things, one is disparagement, which is different from memes. Memes are not necessarily disparaging. Then somebody is selling merchandise. Third is your domain name. Please specifically identify it, the Court will consider it. I think Mr. Pathak is right, it cannot be every fan page. We cannot have an open-ended injunction,”
Rao argued that Johar has the right to control the existence of his fan pages.
He asserted,
“There is a line between making fun…The platform becomes responsible. The more the memes, the more viral it is, the more money you make…I have a right to ensure that nobody uses my persona, or my face, characteristics without my consent. The fact that I chose to look the other way does not give any carte blanche to others,”
After deliberating on the case, the Court suggested it might issue take-down orders for specific pages. If similar pages appear later, Johar can bring them to the attention of the social media platform, which may take action.
Justice Arora added,
“If they don’t, you come to court,”
The matter will be revisited at 4 PM today.
Case Title: Karan Johar v. Ashok Kumar/John Doe & Ors