In a landmark decision, the Delhi High Court has taken strong action against the unauthorised use of Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s name, image, and persona. The court highlighted that such misuse not only causes commercial loss but also negatively impacts her dignity and reputation. After Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Husband Abhishek Bachchan Seeks Legal Protection Against Misuse of His Image and Persona, Approaches Delhi HC.

Delhi HC Warns Against Unauthorised Use of Aishwarya Rai’s Identity

Justice Tejas Karia presiding over the case emphasised that exploiting a celebrity’s identity including name, image, likeness or signature without consent can lead to serious commercial and personal harm. The court noted that misuse of Rai’s persona created confusion, falsely implied endorsement and diluted her goodwill.

Delhi HC Bars Deepfakes and Unauthorised Use

To address these violations, the court imposed strict interim restrictions, preventing multiple websites, companies, and unidentified individuals from exploiting Aishwarya Rai’s identity across digital platforms and AI-driven tools. This includes prohibitions on deepfake, morphed and AI-generated content, as well as commercial merchandise such as mugs, T-shirts or advertisements falsely associated with the actress. The court also directed Google LLC and e-commerce platforms to remove or disable flagged URLs within 72 hours. Additionally, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Technology were instructed to issue directions to block such URLs. Platforms were further required to submit subscriber information of offenders in a sealed cover. Aishwarya Rai Moves Delhi High Court Against Misuse of Her Identity, AI-Morphed Content; Court to Pass Order Protecting Personality Rights of Bollywood Star.

Court Protects Aishwarya Rai’s Persona

Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi, representing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan alongside a team of lawyers, underscored the violations, highlighting fraudulent entities like Aishwarya Nation Wealth falsely listing Rai as chairperson and the circulation of obscene content using her likeness. Justice Karia recognised the limitations of platforms like Google, which can act only on flagged URLs, and clarified that Rai could submit specific URLs for takedown or pursue action through the Blocking and Screening Instructions (BSI) process. The court has scheduled further proceedings for January 15, 2026 while the interim injunction continues to safeguard Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s personality and publicity rights, setting a strong precedent against misuse of celebrity identities in the digital age.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 11, 2025 05:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).