The Delhi High Court has ruled that depicting a celebrity in misleading, derogatory, or inappropriate contexts using their persona can damage their reputation and undermine their goodwill. In a recent judgment, the court upheld Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna’s personality and publicity rights, prohibiting entities from commercially exploiting his name, image, or voice without his consent.
Justice Tejas Karia directed multiple entities to remove URLs infringing upon the actor’s personality rights within 72 hours. The order, issued on September 25 and made public on Tuesday, addressed Nagarjuna’s petition seeking protection of his name, image, voice, and other distinctive personal attributes.
In the case, represented by senior advocate Vaibhav Gaggar and advocate Pravin Anand, Nagarjuna claimed that his persona was being misused to sell merchandise for illegal commercial purposes. He also alleged that his image had been morphed into pornographic content and artificial intelligence was being used to create YouTube videos linking him to terrorist organizations and gambling activities.
The 13-page ruling emphasized that unauthorised use of the actor’s persona could mislead the public and create the false impression that he endorsed certain products or activities. The court noted, “Exploitation of one’s personality rights jeopardizes not only economic interests but also the right to live with dignity. Unauthorised adoption of attributes such as name, image, and likeness inevitably confuses the public regarding association with or endorsement by the Plaintiff, causing irreparable harm to reputation and goodwill.”
The judgment further stated, “The Plaintiff is a celebrated figure in the entertainment industry. Depictions that are misleading, derogatory, or inappropriate inevitably dilute the reputation and goodwill associated with the Plaintiff.”
Nagarjuna’s suit, also represented by advocates Vaishali Mittal, Vibhav Mithal, and Shivang Sharma, highlighted that despite issuing notices to the infringing entities, the violations of his personality rights persisted, and their dissemination was tarnishing his public image.
This decision follows a series of similar rulings by the Delhi High Court. In May 2024, the court protected veteran actor Jackie Shroff’s personality and publicity rights, noting that unauthorised merchandise and altered videos generated commercial gain through exploitation. In 2023, the court restrained misuse of actor Anil Kapoor’s name, image, voice, and his signature “jhakaas” catchphrase. In November 2022, it safeguarded Amitabh Bachchan’s personality and publicity rights.
Earlier in September, the court also extended protections to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and filmmaker Karan Johar. In Johar’s case, the court ordered the removal of obscene memes and posts from social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube, emphasizing that unauthorised use of a celebrity’s persona not only causes commercial harm but also violates their right to dignity, while tarnishing their goodwill.
