Delhi High Court has directed social media and e-commerce platforms to act on NTR Jr’s complaint about misuse of his identity under the 2021 IT Rules. The Court will issue a detailed order on December 22 after reviewing the violations.
Actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Junior, widely known as NTR Jr, has moved the Delhi High Court asking for legal protection of his personality rights in the matter titled Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao v Ashok Kumar/John Doe and Ors.
The case was heard on Monday by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora. Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak, appearing for the Telugu film star, told the Court that several products, posts, and other materials on different e-commerce websites and social media platforms were illegally using NTR Jr’s name, image, and identity, which clearly violates his personality rights.
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After listening to the submissions, the Court directed all e-commerce companies and social media platforms involved to treat NTR Jr’s lawsuit as an official complaint under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The Court further ordered them to take the required actions within three days. Justice Arora informed the parties that the Court will take up the matter again on December 22 and issue a complete, detailed order regarding the actor’s personality rights.
During the hearing, Justice Arora observed,
“We will pass the formal order on the next date.”
NTR Jr’s petition was filed through advocate Shiv Verma. The case is significant because the Delhi High Court has recently shown a consistent approach regarding personality rights and misuse of celebrity identity on the internet.
In an earlier matter related to Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, heard on November 27, the Court had pointed out that anyone approaching the judiciary for removal of defamatory or derogatory content must first use the available legal remedy under the IT Rules.
In that hearing, the Court had clearly stated that people should approach social media intermediaries before filing a case and ask them to take action.
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The Court had said that parties must first make use of the “statutory remedies under the 2021 IT Rules” and ask the platforms to remove harmful or defamatory content.
This new petition by NTR Jr continues that legal trend, with the Delhi High Court again stressing proper use of the IT Rules and timely action by online platforms. The matter will now be taken up on December 22, when the comprehensive order is expected.
Case Title:
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao v Ashok Kumar/John Doe and Ors
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