The Delhi High Court on Thursday indicated that it would soon pass orders on whether to grant ad-interim relief to Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, who has sought protection of his personality rights against alleged misuse of his identity in the digital space.
The petition came up before Justice Tejas Karia.
Nagarjuna’s Reputation & Influence
Appearing for the actor, Advocate Pravin Anand underscored Nagarjuna’s stature in the film industry. With 95 films to his credit and 2 National Awards, he enjoys a formidable reputation in Indian cinema. Anand described him as a “celluloid scientist” known for his versatility and said his performance in Shiva had “changed the course of Indian cinema.”
The actor’s wide digital reach was also highlighted: over 6 million followers on X (formerly Twitter) and more than eight million on Facebook, reflecting his strong online presence and influence.
Violations Flagged In The Petition
The plea identified 3 major forms of misuse of Nagarjuna’s identity:
- Pornographic content falsely attributed to him,
- Unauthorized merchandising using his name or image,
- AI-generated content is exploiting his likeness without consent.
Counsel pointed to instances of YouTube shorts and paid promotional videos that used hashtags linked to Nagarjuna, warning that such material could later be scraped to train generative AI models, perpetuating the misuse.
Court’s Observations
Justice Karia acknowledged the seriousness of the issue, remarking that once content is uploaded online, it can be picked up by AI systems regardless of whether it is authentic.
The Court noted that 14 specific URLs had already been identified for takedown and said such links could be targeted for removal. However, it also raised a larger concern: “How long can such injunctions reasonably continue, given the enduring fame of public figures?”
This reflects the Court’s balancing act between safeguarding celebrity rights and addressing the practical limitations of policing online content indefinitely.
Wider Push To Protect Celebrity Rights
The hearing comes amid a broader judicial push to protect the digital identity of public figures. Recently, the Delhi High Court restrained several websites and platforms from misusing the personality rights of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan.
In that case, the court barred respondents from exploiting their names, images, voices, acronyms, likenesses, or any other attributes uniquely tied to them. Nagarjuna’s petition similarly seeks robust safeguards to prevent his persona from being commodified or distorted online.
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