Delhi High Court Grants Interim Injunction Against Deepfakes in Actor's Personality Rights Suit

Justice Jyoti Singh of the Delhi High Court has granted an ex parte ad-interim injunction in favor of actor and Member of Parliament Ravi Kishan, marking another significant legal victory against the unauthorized use of artificial intelligence. The July 6 order restrains multiple entities from the commercial exploitation of Kishan's name, image, voice, and signature catchphrases through AI and deepfake technology.[1]

The lawsuit targeted over 30 defendants, including social media accounts, domain registrars, and unidentified "John Doe" entities. Kishan, a veteran of over 750 films, alleged that his identity was being weaponized to create vulgar and pornographic deepfake videos, as well as cloned-voice advertisements for FM radio, entirely without his consent.

During the hearing, the court drew a sharp distinction between traditional defamation and the violation of personality rights. When legal counsel for Google LLC attempted to argue that some flagged URLs merely constituted defamation rather than an intellectual property violation, Justice Singh clarified that the unauthorized attribution of an individual's persona—especially for obscene content or commercial gain—directly violates their inherent personality rights and warrants immediate removal.

The enforcement mechanism outlined in the order is highly aggressive by international standards. Domain registrars and website operators have been given three days to remove the offending URLs. If they fail to comply, major intermediaries including Meta, Google, and X are mandated to step in and take down the content within 72 hours of being notified.

This ruling cements the Delhi High Court's position as the primary legal battleground for synthetic media disputes in India. Over the past year, the court has rapidly developed a robust jurisprudence around "personality rights," anchoring them in the constitutional right to privacy and human dignity, allowing public figures to control the commercial use of their identity.[2]

Kishan's victory is part of a sweeping 2026 trend in the Indian judiciary. In just the past two months, the same court has granted similar ex parte injunctions to Bollywood actors Varun Dhawan and Arjun Kapoor, as well as Telugu star Naga Chaitanya, ordering the immediate takedown of AI-generated explicit content and unauthorized merchandise.

The legal shield is also extending beyond the entertainment industry. In May 2026, the court protected the personality rights of entrepreneur Aman Gupta and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor against malicious voice-cloning and synthetic media, proving the framework's viability for business leaders and politicians.[2]

However, the judiciary is carefully balancing these protections against free speech. In a separate July 2026 ruling involving MP Raghav Chadha, the court refused to order the blanket removal of all AI-generated content flagged by the politician. The judge noted that public figures must tolerate political satire and criticism, provided it does not cross into obscenity or direct commercial misappropriation.

For the global entertainment and technology industries, India's approach offers a compelling blueprint for combating AI harms. By allowing celebrities to secure emergency ex parte relief that bypasses the often-sluggish statutory notice-and-takedown routes, the courts are forcing social media platforms to act swiftly before viral deepfakes can inflict permanent reputational damage.[2]