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Delhi HC Curbs Unauthorized Use of
In a landmark decision that addresses the intersection of celebrity identity and the digital age, the has granted an to popular actor and Member of Parliament, Ravindra Shukla (professionally known as Ravi Kishan). Justice Jyoti Singh issued the order to restrain the unauthorized exploitation of Kishan’s name, likeness, and personality attributes, particularly those manipulated through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and generative technologies.
The Backdrop: A Digital Scourge Ravi Kishan, a veteran actor with over 750 films across multiple languages and a prominent political career representing Gorakhpur, found himself at the center of a complex legal struggle. The plaintiff alleged that unidentified entities, along with specific content creators, were utilizing his image, voice, and persona to host pornographic material, fabricate false political statements, and ridicule his public image.
Of particular concern were several AI-generated videos and altered audio-visual segments—including a radio broadcast segment titled
"What is Love with Kavi Kishan"
—which allegedly used his identity to drive commercial traffic and cause public humiliation, damaging the goodwill he has meticulously built over three decades.
Arguments and Legal Contention Counsel for the plaintiff argued that Ravi Kishan holds exclusive legal rights over his personality, image, and voice. These attributes, they asserted, are not mere features of a public profile but are protected under both the , and the .
The legal team underscored that the proliferation of "deepfake" technology and unauthorized social media reels was not only causing severe personal distress but was also resulting in irreparable commercial and reputational harm. The defendants, including "" entities (unidentified persons), were accused of monetizing vulgar and obscene content by tagging it with Kishan’s name to exploit search engine algorithms and social media engagement.
Judicial Reasoning: A Modern Protection Justice Jyoti Singh, in her order, affirmed that the judicial recognition of is imperative in the contemporary era. Referencing established jurisprudence such as and , the Court noted that unauthorized use of a personality's identity often impacts the right to lead a life of dignity.
"
are now judicially recognized as also the need to protect them,"
observed the Court. Justice Singh noted that the plaintiff had demonstrated a strong
case for relief, concluding that both the
and the risk of
weighed heavily in favor of granting the injunction.
Key Observations
The Court emphasized the gravity of the misuse:
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"Plaintiff has the exclusive right to protect the various attributes of his personality such as name, image, voice, likeness and restrain third parties from using and commercially exploiting these attributes without his express permission and authority."
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"When attributes of famous personalities are used unauthorisedly, it leads not only to commercial detriment but also impacts his/her rights to privacy/personality and live with dignity."
*
"Plaintiff is thus entitled to complain against any content which violates his
and/or is vulgar or obscene or has sexually explicit or pornographic content."
The Order and Future Implications The has mandated that the defendants, including domain name registrars and like , , and , initiate the immediate removal of offending URLs. Specifically: 1. The infringing content identified in the court’s annexure must be taken down within three days of receipt of the order. 2. In the event of non-compliance, are directed to intervene and remove the flagged content within 72 hours of receiving a formal intimation from the plaintiff. 3. A broad restraint has been placed on the use of AI, generative AI, and deepfake technologies to mimic the actor's persona for commercial or derogatory purposes.
This ruling significantly strengthens the judicial stance against the weaponization of personal identity in the digital sphere. By setting a strict timeline for to purge such content, the Court has provided a robust framework for public figures to enforce their against the backdrop of rapid technological advancement. The matter is currently slated for further hearings on .
