The Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction restraining unauthorised commercial use of actor NTR Jr’s name, image and persona on online platforms. The Court ordered the takedown of infringing merchandise and digital content within 72 hours, recognising strong personality and publicity rights.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has recently passed an important interim order protecting the personality and publicity rights of popular Telugu film actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr., who is globally known as NTR Jr. The Court granted a John Doe order and an ex parte ad-interim injunction, stopping all unauthorised commercial use of the actor’s name, image, identity and persona.
The order was passed on 22 December 2025 by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, who issued strong restraining directions against unknown persons, online sellers, e-commerce platforms and third-party merchandise dealers. The Court clearly restrained them from commercially exploiting the actor’s personality without his permission.
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Through the injunction, the Court specifically prohibited the unauthorised use of Mr. NTR Jr.’s name, photograph, image, likeness, appearance, style and identity, including the associated names and titles “NTR,” “Jr. NTR,” and “Man of Masses”, for any commercial purpose.
This includes selling merchandise, digital products, promotional materials or any other monetised content online.
The Court further directed that all infringing merchandise listings, links and URLs must be taken down within 72 hours from the time the order is received.
The directions apply to online marketplaces, social media platforms and any other digital intermediaries involved in hosting or selling such unauthorised content.
Senior Advocate J. Sai Deepak, appearing for the actor, strongly argued that personality rights have become valuable proprietary rights in today’s digital and e-commerce driven environment.
He submitted that a celebrity’s name, image and likeness, built through years of professional work and public recognition, cannot be freely exploited for commercial gain without consent.
While passing the order, the Delhi High Court relied on several important earlier judgments, including D.M. Entertainment Vs. Baby Gift House, Anil Kapoor Vs. Simply Life India & Ors., and Jaikishan Kaku Bhai Sarf Alias Jackie Shroff Vs. The Peppy Store & Ors.
The Court reaffirmed the legal position that an individual’s personality, identity and public image, especially when gained through decades of professional success, deserve legal protection against unauthorised commercial misuse.
The Court also took note of the actor’s massive popularity and public stature. It recorded that NTR Jr. is a major celebrity with millions of followers across social media platforms and is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including multiple Filmfare Awards South. These factors, the Court observed, further strengthen the protection available to his personality rights.
NTR Jr. had approached the Delhi High Court complaining that his name, photographs and persona were being misused on various social media platforms and e-commerce websites without authorisation. He alleged that such misuse was misleading the public and causing commercial exploitation of his identity.
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Earlier, after hearing initial submissions on December 8, 2025, the Court had directed social media intermediaries and online marketplaces to treat the suit as a formal complaint under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The platforms were instructed to take appropriate action within three days in accordance with the law.
The Court has clarified that further directions will be issued after examining the replies filed by the defendants and reviewing the compliance reports submitted by the intermediaries. The matter was accordingly listed for further hearing on December 22, 2025.
This order follows a consistent approach taken by the Delhi High Court in recent personality rights cases. In a recent matter involving actor Ajay Devgn, the Court had observed that individuals seeking removal of defamatory or unauthorised content should first approach social media platforms under the 2021 IT Rules before seeking court injunctions.
The Bench also noted that most platforms do not resist removing content that is defamatory, misleading or violative of personality rights.
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The present case adds to a growing trend where well-known public figures are moving the Delhi High Court to protect their identity from unauthorised online monetisation. In recent months, actors Hrithik Roshan, Nagarjuna, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, filmmaker Karan Johar, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and journalist Sudhir Chaudhary have also approached the Court over misuse of their name, image, voice and likeness.
The actor, popularly known for his role in the film RRR, was represented by Law Offices of India, led by Senior Partner Dr. Alka Dahar and Partner Dr. S. Balajanaki, along with Mr. K. Rajender Prasad.
The litigation team included Adv. Shiv Verma, Adv. Varun Sharma, Adv. Khushi Jain and Adv. Pankhudi Tripathi.
Case Title:
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao v. Ashok Kumar/John Doe and Ors.
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