In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has sided with Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, granting an ex parte ad interim injunction that protects her “personality rights” from unauthorized use. The court’s decision explicitly addresses the growing threat of misuse through modern technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), deepfakes, and face morphing.
The ruling came after a plea filed by Rai Bachchan, who sought protection against online platforms illegally circulating AI-generated, sexually explicit content and misusing her identity for commercial purposes. Her plea highlighted that defendants were using deepfake technology to morph her face onto “unreal intimate photographs” and videos, which her lawyer, Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, called “very unfortunate.”
Justice Tejas Karia, who presided over the case, stated that the unauthorized use of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s name, image, and likeness violates her right to privacy and dignity. The court emphasized that such misuse not only causes financial loss but also harms her reputation and goodwill, and can mislead the public into believing she endorses products or services she has no connection with.
The court’s order is comprehensive, barring several defendants, including unknown parties, from using her name, the acronym “ARB,” her image, and other attributes for personal or commercial gain. This injunction applies across all technologies and mediums.
In a move to enforce the order, the court directed Google LLC to take down the specific URLs mentioned in the suit within 72 hours and to provide subscriber information of the operators in a sealed format. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was also instructed to block the infringing URLs within seven days.
This ruling is seen as a landmark decision in India, recognizing and reinforcing the concept of “personality rights.” The court affirmed that such rights allow individuals, especially public figures, to control how their persona is used, and that courts “cannot turn a blind eye” to its unauthorized exploitation. The case has set a powerful precedent for other celebrities and public figures facing similar challenges in the age of AI.