The Delhi High Court has passed an interim order restraining unauthorised commercial use of Pawan Kalyan’s name, image, voice and likeness, including through AI, deepfakes and digital manipulation, while directing social media platforms to ensure compliance.
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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has passed an interim order safeguarding the personality rights of Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and popular actor Pawan Kalyan.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora restrained multiple websites, social media users, and e-commerce platforms from unauthorised exploitation of Pawan Kalyan’s name, image, likeness, voice, and persona for commercial purposes, including through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), deepfakes, morphing, and digital manipulation.
Observing a prima facie violation, the Court stated:
“Such unauthorised use of the Plaintiff’s attributes by these infringing Defendants, prima facie, amounts to violation of the Plaintiff’s personality rights.”
The Court clarified that Pawan Kalyan’s identity cannot be commercially exploited without express consent, regardless of the technology used.
A key aspect of the interim order is the Court’s strong stance against AI-generated impersonation, including:
- AI-based voice replication
- Deepfake videos
- Digitally altered images
- Morphing and synthetic media
The defendants have been restrained from using any such technologies to falsely associate Pawan Kalyan with commercial endorsements or engagements.
Addressing the issue of fan-run social media accounts, the Delhi High Court struck a balanced approach. It held that fan accounts may continue to operate, provided they clearly display a disclaimer stating that the account is not officially affiliated with Pawan Kalyan. The Court observed:
“Subject to the account owner(s) specifically including a disclaimer on the profile description that it is a ‘fan account’, no further action of take down is required.”
Until such disclaimers are added, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) has been directed to render these fan accounts inactive.
Directions to Meta and Google
The Court issued several directions to major internet intermediaries:
- Meta must communicate the interim order to users operating fan accounts
- Fan accounts to remain inactive until disclaimer compliance
- Meta and Google to provide Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) of infringing users within three weeks
Earlier, the Court had also directed Meta, Google, and X (formerly Twitter) to act on complaints related to personality rights violations.
Pawan Kalyan alleged that several websites and e-commerce platforms were selling merchandise such as:
- T-shirts
- Mugs
- Key chains
- Stickers
- Wallpapers
These products allegedly carried elements of his personality without authorisation, amounting to commercial misuse.
Counsel for Pawan Kalyan submitted that his client had first approached internet intermediaries for relief, following precedents set in a similar case involving actor Ajay Devgn.
However, due to inadequate responses and continued violations, the matter was brought before the High Court.
The matter will be taken up next on May 12, as the Court continues to examine the evolving challenges surrounding personality rights, AI misuse, and digital impersonation.
Appearance:
For Pawan Kalyan: Along with Senior Advocate Sai Deepak, advocates Himanshu Deora, Rahul Mehta, Arpit Choudhary, Sukrit Kapoor, Krunal Mehta, Anupriya Alok, Sambhavi Sharma, Sanat Saswadkar, Sambhavi Bhardwaj and Karen Koya of King Stubb & Kasiva
Case Title:
MR KONIDALA PAWAN KALYAN Versus ASHOK KUMAR JOHN DOE & ORS.
CS(COMM) 1336/2025 & I.A. 31232-31235/2025
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