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The Delhi High Court on Friday said it would pass orders on a plea filed by Telugu actor Allu Arjun seeking protection of his personality rights, including his name, image, voice and likeness.
The matter was heard by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, who at the outset questioned the maintainability of the petition before the Delhi High Court, noting the actor's connection to Telangana. "Why are you here?" the Court remarked, expressing concern over territorial jurisdiction. In response, counsel for Arjun argued that the alleged misuse of the actor's identity is occurring across the country, thereby justifying the invocation of the Court's jurisdiction. Senior Advocate Swathi Sukumar, appearing for Arjun, submitted that the situation is increasingly concerning, particularly due to technological misuse. She informed the Court that one of the defendants has created an application that allows users to interact with an AI-generated version of the actor. Describing this as "truly frightening," she highlighted that Arjun has proactively secured legal protection over his identity. Meanwhile, counsel for the intermediaries requested that no global injunction be granted at this stage, pointing out that the issue is already pending before a Division Bench. Accepting this submission, the Court indicated that it would pass appropriate orders. The plea is part of a growing trend of high-profile personalities approaching the Delhi High Court seeking safeguards against unauthorised use of their identity, particularly in the context of digital platforms and artificial intelligence. Arjun's suit seeks to restrain entities from exploiting his personality traits, including his name, image, voice and likeness, for commercial purposes such as merchandise and online content without his consent. In recent years, the Court has extended similar protection to several prominent figures across fields, including actors, sportspersons, spiritual leaders and media personalities. Among them are Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, Kajol, Jubin Nautiyal, Pawan Kalyan, Sunil Gavaskar, Kajol, R Madhavan, NTR Jr., Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Nagarjuna, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Karan Johar. The Court has also recently addressed concerns relating to AI-generated content in cases such as that of journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, underlining the emerging legal challenges surrounding the misuse of identity in the digital age. (ANI)
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