Bollywood actress Arjun Kapoor approached on Wednesday Delhi High Courtseeks the protection of his identity rights against the alleged misuse of his identity through AI-generated pornographic material and content.The matter was taken up by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, who heard submissions from advocate Pravin Anand, appearing on behalf of Kapoor. Anand informed the Court that several defendants were commercially exploiting the character of the actor by selling merchandise featuring his images without permission. He also stated that some parties have disseminated sexually explicit material, deepfakes and pornographic audio-visuals related to Kapoor.During the hearing, Anand pointed out that Justice Gedela had earlier issued seven orders to protect personality rights in the cases of personalities like Jubin Nautiyal. Vivek Oberoiand Acharya Balakrishnan, among others.As the allegedly objectionable content was presented to the Court, Judge Gedela stated that public figures cannot demand the complete removal of all content featuring them, unless it is clearly defamatory or derogatory. In response, Anand argued that the material in question went beyond humor or satire, stating that it included AI-generated distortions such as merging Kapoor’s image with an animal or depicting him selling golgappas.“No one would like that. Not even a normal man,” he said.The court, however, stated: “The common man does not come to court for personality rights. When a person is in the public glare, many things happen. We can understand if things are objectionable or defamatory. But not everything can fit under it. Otherwise, the DM entertainment judgment will be redundant.The bench also heard submissions from counsel representing Google LLC. Following the arguments of all parties, the Court stated that a detailed order on interim measures will be issued soon. The High Court has extended similar protection to several public figures including Allu Arjun, Mohanlal, Aniruddhacharya, Pawan Kalyan, Sunil Gavaskar, Kajol, R. Madhavan, and Jr. NTR. Salman Khan has also filed a similar claim. Court co-ordination benches have issued orders to protect personality rights of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Nagarjuna, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Abhishek Bachchanand Karan Johar.A John Doe injunction was granted to protect podcaster Raj Shamani’s personality rights, highlighting the Court’s prominence in the Indian content creation space.
