Delhi HC Upholds Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Personality Rights Against AI Misuse

The Delhi High Court granted Aishwarya Rai Bachchan protection over her personality rights on September 10, ruling that unauthorised commercial use of her name, image, voice, or other attributes would violate her right to live with dignity. In the interim order, the court restrained various defendants from creating, sharing or selling any products such as T-shirts, mugs, posters or digital content using her name, likeness, or persona. This includes content generated through artificial intelligence, deepfake technology, face morphing or any other digital manipulation that could dilute her public image.

The court order read, “Any infringement of the plaintiff's personality rights, while causing confusion amongst the members of the public regarding endorsement or sponsorship of a product or service by the plaintiff, will also lead to dilution of the plaintiff's reputation and goodwill."

Justice Tejas Karia said the unauthorised use of a celebrity’s likeness without consent not only causes commercial harm but also undermines their right to privacy and dignity. He restrained several entities from misusing the actor’s personal attributes, including her likeness and identity markers, for commercial gain without her consent.

The Delhi High Court is also seized of a separate plea by Bollywood actor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's husband Abhishek Bachchan seeking to protect his publicity and personality rights, over unauthorised use of his image, likeness, persona and fake videos.

When Aaradhya Bachchan Took Legal Action Against Google

Previously, the Delhi High Court had restricted multiple YouTube channels from spreading misleading claims about Aaradhya’s health. The court strongly criticised such disinformation, stating, "Spreading such disinformation about a child reflected morbid perversity."

Google was then instructed to remove videos falsely alleging that Aaradhya was "critically ill" or "no more." The court had also summoned channels such as Bollywood Time, Bolly Pakora, Bolly Samosa, and Bollywood Shine, stating that there was "a prima facie case for granting interim relief" to prevent further harm.

Allegations in the lawsuit

The lawsuit claimed that certain YouTube videos shared "absolutely false" information about Aaradhya’s health and personal life, causing damage to the Bachchan family’s reputation. It argued that the Bachchan family name, being "protectable as a trademark," symbolised "the highest virtues."

The lawsuit further alleged that the misleading content violated Aaradhya’s privacy and was created solely for "shock value, overnight popularity," and financial gain.