The court found that posthumous publicity rights of celebrities do not exist under Indian law, as such rights are inherently linked to the right to privacy, which ceases upon death.

JUDGMENT

Sanjeev Narula, J.

CONTENTS

Brief Facts........................................................ 3

Contentions of the Plaintiff....................................... 4

Contentions of Defendant No. 3..................................... 8

Contentions of Defendants No. 1-2.................................. 13

Contentions of Defendant No. 4..................................... 16

Contentions of Defendant No. 7..................................... 17

Rejoinder Arguments by Plaintiff .................................. 18

Analysis

Celebrity/Personality Rights ...................................... 21

A. What are `celebrity' or `publicity' rights? .................... 21

B. Can `celebrity rights' be enforced posthumously? ............... 26

Right to Fair Trial ............................................... 33

Plaintiff's cause of action for defamation ........................ 34

Plaintiff's Right to Privacy versus Defendants' Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression ..................................................... 36

Principles relating to grant of injunction ........................ 40

I.A. 5697/2021 (u/Order XXXIX Rule 1 and 2 R/W Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908)

1. By way of this application, the Plaintiff - who is the father of late actor Sh. Sushant Singh Rajput [hereinafter referred to as `SSR'] - seeks ad-interim ex-parte injunction against the named and unnamed Defendants from using his son's name, caricature, lifestyle or likeness in forthcoming films and other ventures, contending that any such publication, production, or depiction would be an infringement of personality rights, right to privacy which includes right to publicity, cannot be undertaken without the prior approval of his legal heir; and a violation of right of fair trial - under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

BRIEF FACTS

2. The Plaintiff asserts to be the Category-I of Class-II legal heir of SSR and absolute legal heir under Section 16 of HINDU SUCCESSION ACT , 1956, entitled to bring the present suit for protecting the reputation, privacy and rights of his deceased son. SSR was a renowned actor from the entertainment industry, who worked in several blockbuster movies and television series, bagged multiple awards, and had attained the status of a public figure and celebrity. He passed away under suspicious circumstances on 14th June, 2020. The Plaintiff lodged an FIR on account of his unnatural death. The matter is being investigated by the CBI, and there is no conclusive report submitted as yet. As SSR commanded a huge fan-following, people of the country were deeply moved by his unfortunate and untimely demise, and it attracted widespread news coverage on electronic, social, and print media. The Plaintiff believes that the Defendants are trying to exploit