Abhishek Bachchan Moves Delhi HC to Protect Publicity and Personality Rights from AI Misuse
Suit Follows Aishwarya Rai’s Plea, Highlights Rising AI Abuse of Celebrity Identities
By Our Legal Correspondent
New Delhi: September 10, 2025: Abhishek Bachchan today approached the Delhi High Court seeking urgent protection of his publicity and personality rights against a wave of unauthorized online use of his image, likeness and voice. A single-judge bench led by Justice Tejas Karia heard Bachchan’s suit, which targets various YouTube channels, e-commerce platforms and merchandise sites for commercial exploitation of the actor’s persona without consent.
The petition alleges a growing menace of AI-generated videos, deepfake imagery and doctored photographs being circulated online and used to sell products, including T-shirts, mugs and posters falsely bearing Bachchan’s signature or voice. It further claims pornographic and sexually explicit content has been created by miscreants to draw traffic and profits, inflicting “irreparable harm” on the actor’s reputation.
Bachchan’s counsel, Senior Advocate Pravin Anand, argued that routine takedown requests to platforms have failed and that only a court order can compel defendants to remove the infringing material and desist from further misuse. “These are all fake. There are videos using AI technology to distort my client’s image at a level that can mislead and insult viewers,” Anand told the court during the pre-lunch proceedings.
Justice Karia orally indicated that he would pass an ad-interim order on the actor’s request and directed Bachchan’s team to provide a detailed, defendant-wise list of URLs hosting infringing content. The judge suggested that once URLs are identified, orders could be issued to Google and other internet intermediaries to take them down. However, he noted that platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart must be formally joined as defendants before any relief can be granted against them.
Google’s counsel, Advocate Mamta Rani, assured the court that the company will comply promptly with any valid takedown order. She said Google has in the past blocked access to deepfake content and would do so again once specific URLs are provided. The bench adjourned the matter for further hearing on January 15, 2026 to allow the parties to refine their lists and arguments.
This suit comes just a day after Bachchan’s wife, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, filed a similar petition before the same bench, highlighting the unauthorized circulation of AI-generated intimate and pornographic videos, fake endorsements and morphed images bearing her likeness. In Aishwarya’s case, Justice Karia had indicated he would issue injunctions or takedown orders against infringers, setting a clear precedent for Abhishek’s plea.
Bollywood icons Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor have also obtained injunctions from the Delhi High Court in recent years to curb unauthorized use of their personality attributes. Amitabh Bachchan secured relief in 2022 against misappropriation of his name and voice, while Kapoor won an order in 2023 preventing the use of his “Jhakaas” catchphrase and image in AI-generated content. Actor Jackie Shroff received similar protection in May 2024, when the court restrained merchandise sales and distorted videos exploiting his celebrity status.
Under Indian law, a celebrity’s right to publicity and personality is protected as an extension of the right to privacy and intellectual property. Courts have recognised that unauthorized commercial use of a person’s identity—whether through passing off, trademark infringement or digital manipulation—can amount to a tort or actionable offence. The Delhi High Court has increasingly adopted a proactive stance against deepfakes and AI-driven misuse, viewing such acts as “deliberate, dishonest and causing grave injury to reputation”.
In his petition, Bachchan seeks:
- A comprehensive injunction restraining all defendants from using his image, likeness, signature, voice or any AI-generated representation for commercial purposes without authorization.
- A mandatory order requiring platforms such as Google, YouTube, Amazon and Flipkart to take down infringing URLs on receipt of specific court directions.
- Damages and costs for unauthorized exploitation of his personality rights.
“The misuse of advanced AI tools to project false images and videos of public figures poses a serious threat not only to individual reputations but also to democratic discourse,” the actor’s lawyers submitted. They argued that absent swift judicial intervention, the infringing content could proliferate further, undermining Bachchan’s ability to control his public image and commercial endorsements.
Defendants include a mix of known entities—such as BollywoodTeeShop.com and other merchandise websites—as well as “John Doe” operators who cannot be specifically identified until their hosting URLs are disclosed. The court has asked Bachchan’s team to separate the list platform-wise and defendant-wise, so that enforcement orders can be precisely framed. Any unidentified intermediaries will be covered through broad relief clauses in the final order.
Legal experts say Bachchan’s case will solidify the Delhi HC’s emerging jurisprudence on AI and personality rights. “The court is sending a clear message that routine digital defamation and commercialization of fame will not be tolerated,” says media law specialist Amrita Singh. “It also underscores the need for stronger statutory safeguards on deepfake technologies and online intermediaries”.
The January hearing will be closely watched for the scope of interim relief granted. Should the court issue broad takedown orders, it could pave the way for streamlined procedures allowing celebrities to identify and block infringing content without filing separate suits on each platform. Rights activists caution, however, that care must be taken to balance free speech and fair use protections against over-broad injunctions that might chill legitimate commentary and parody online.
Meanwhile, digital rights groups have noted a surge in AI-generated celebrity deepfakes since mid-2024, reflecting dramatic improvements in machine-learning models. Experts warn that without decisive judicial and legislative action, celebrities and private individuals alike will face growing challenges to their identity rights. Some have called for an “AI authenticity framework” that mandates watermarks or metadata for AI-generated content, making it easy to trace and regulate misuse.
Back in court, Abhishek Bachchan and his legal team are determined to secure robust protections before the next phase of hearings. “This suit is not only about my client’s personal rights,” Pravin Anand told reporters outside the courtroom. “It’s about upholding the principle that no one can appropriate someone else’s identity for profit or defamation, especially in the age of deepfakes”.
As the Delhi High Court prepares to pass interim orders, the case may also influence pending legislation in Parliament on digital privacy and AI regulation. Observers expect the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to take note of judicial directives in crafting future rules on intermediary liability and content takedowns.
For now, Bollywood’s power couple leads the charge against AI abuse, turning to the judiciary to assert their publicity and personality rights. With hearings set for mid-January, the world of Indian cinema and digital law alike awaits a landmark judgment on how courts will curb the new frontier of AI-driven identity misuse.
Keywords: Abhishek Bachchan personality rights, Delhi High Court AI deepfake, unauthorized merchandise, publicity rights suit, Justice Tejas Karia, Pravin Anand, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan suit, Google takedown orders, celebrity identity protection, ChatGPT SEO.