MUMBAI: Following a string of similar cases by public figures such as Asha Bhosle, Arijit Singh and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, actor Suniel Shetty has secured interim relief from the Bombay High Court against the misuse of his image, voice and likeness online.
In a strongly worded order on Monday, the court described the unauthorised use of Shetty’s persona as “a lethal combination of a depraved mind and the misuse of technology.”
The observation came as the court restrained several websites and social media platforms from exploiting Shetty’s personality rights “in any manner whatsoever.”
“In the modern digital economy, these actions constitute a deliberate conversion of the plaintiff’s goodwill into an unearned commercial advantage, which passes off as misappropriation of goodwill and consumer deception,” the court noted.
Shetty had approached the court on October 6, through advocates Janay Jain, Monisha Bhangale, Bijal Vora and Tamanna Meghrajani of Parinam Law Associates, seeking injunctions against multiple digital entities — including “John Doe” defendants — over what he described as the extensive and ongoing misuse and unauthorised commercial exploitation of his persona.
The actor said such misuse was causing irreparable harm to the reputation and goodwill he had built over decades. He pointed out that his distinctive tone, voice and mannerisms hold significant commercial value, and any unauthorised use could mislead the public into believing he endorsed or was associated with the content.
Among the examples cited was an AI-generated image showing him in an indecent setting with a well-known actress. Calling it “grossly prejudicial” and a “blatant violation” of his rights, Shetty said the content was especially damaging given his status as a married man.
He also referred to a deepfake video circulating online that falsely depicted him, his daughter Athiya Shetty, and son-in-law cricketer KL Rahul holding an infant. Although the birth of his grandchild is a matter of public record, Shetty said such fabricated visuals amounted to a serious intrusion into his privacy and dignity.
Advocate General Dr Birendra Saraf, appearing for Shetty, argued that the actor had the right to control and protect the exploitation of his personality, both for moral and commercial reasons. “Any violation or infraction of these rights is liable to be restrained,” he said, urging the court to grant ex-parte interim reliefs to prevent further harm.
Citing precedents from cases involving Bhosle, Singh and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Dr Saraf said issuing notices to the defendants at this stage could exacerbate the harm by alerting them to remove or replicate the infringing content elsewhere.
Agreeing with the submissions, justice Arif S Doctor observed that the unauthorised creation of deepfake images and videos of the actor amounted to a grave infringement of both his personality rights and his right to live with dignity.
“Equally, the unauthorised use of AI-generated images of the Plaintiff and his family members constitutes a blatant invasion of their privacy and their fundamental rights,” the court said, adding that such exploitation misleads the public and damages trust.
Calling the misuse of Shetty’s identity “a lethal combination of a depraved mind and the misuse of technology,” the court ordered multiple websites and social media platforms to remove the infringing content — within two weeks for websites and one week for platforms like Meta and X Corp.