Delhi High Court protects Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s personality rights, ruling that breach of a celebrity’s identity undermines dignity, reputation, and privacy, while restraining AI misuse and unauthorized commercial exploitation.
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NEW DELHI: Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been granted interim relief from the Delhi High Court in a case concerning the unauthorized use of her name, image, photographs, and persona across digital platforms and commercial products. The misuse allegedly extended to merchandise, e-commerce platforms, and AI-generated content, including obscene and morphed images.
Court’s Observations
Justice Tejas Karia, while granting relief, stated that the unauthorized use of a celebrity’s identity without consent or authorization causes not only commercial detriment but also undermines their right to live with dignity.
The Court stressed that personality rights, which include the right to control the exploitation of one’s name, likeness, and persona, are deeply connected to an individual’s autonomy and privacy.
“The misuse of the Plaintiff’s name, image, likeness and other elements of the Plaintiff’s persona clearly constitutes infringement … such unauthorized adoption will inevitably cause confusion and create a perception of endorsement by the Plaintiff.”
– Justice Karia
Relief Granted:
The Court passed an interim injunction, restraining defendants (including e-commerce platforms, websites, and unknown “John Doe” entities) from misusing Aishwarya’s identity. Key directions include:
- Google LLC and other platforms must take down and block the URLs identified in the petition within 72 hours of notice.
- The Ministry of Electronics and IT and the Department of Telecommunications were ordered to block and disable the URLs.
- Defendants were restrained from using AI tools, deepfakes, face morphing, or generative AI to create, share, or disseminate content that infringes her persona.
The Court held that Aishwarya had established a prima facie case, and the balance of convenience favored her.
Lawyer’s Arguments
Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Aishwarya, highlighted rampant misuse of her persona:
- Unauthorized sale of T-shirts, mugs, drinkware, and wallpapers featuring her image.
- AI-generated obscene and morphed images, including intimate photos, were falsely linked to her.
- Fraudulent claims by a company named Aishwarya Nation Wealth, which falsely listed her as its Chairperson.
Sethi argued that such misuse not only misleads the public but also damages her reputation, goodwill, and dignity.
The Court emphasized that unauthorized exploitation of personality rights has two key facets:
- Commercial exploitation without consent.
- Violation of privacy, undermining dignity, and reputation.
The order reinforces Indian courts’ proactive approach in protecting celebrities from misuse of their persona in the age of AI, deepfakes, and digital fraud.
Similar Cases
This is not the first such case before the Delhi High Court. Earlier, celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Jackie Shroff obtained orders safeguarding their likeness and voice.
Actor Abhishek Bachchan has also filed a similar plea before the Delhi High Court against the misuse of his persona, especially against websites selling merchandise with his images without authorization.
Appearance:
For Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi with advocates Pravin Anand, Ameet Naik, Madhu Gadodia, Dhruv Anand, Udita Patro, Nimrat Singh, Deevesha Tudekar, Dhananjay Khanna, Aayushi Udani and Riya Kumar from Anand and Naik
For Google: Advocates Mamta Rani Jha, Rohan Ahuja, Shruttima Ehersa, Devangini Rai, Aiswarya Debadarsini, Diya and Jahanvi
Case Title:
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan v Aishwaryaworld.com & Ors
CS(COMM) 956/2025
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