Delhi HC Safeguards Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s Personality Rights, Bars Misuse Via AI And Deepfakes

New Delhi: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has received major relief as the Delhi High Court has ruled in favor of safeguarding the personality rights of the Bollywood actress.

During the hearing on Thursday, the High Court ruled that the unauthorized use of her personal attributes — including her name, image, likeness, and persona — through technological tools like Artificial Intelligence (AI), deepfakes, and morphing will be considered a violation of the actor's right to privacy and dignity.

What Did the Delhi HC Ruling State?

Justice Tejas Karia, who presided over the matter, restrained several entities from misusing the actress’ name, image, and identity markers for commercial gain without her consent.

The court observed that such misuse not only causes financial loss to Bachchan but also harms her reputation, dignity, and goodwill.

Also Read: After Aishwarya Rai, Husband Abhishek Bachchan Moves Delhi HC For Personality Rights

“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,” the order stated.

It further added that unauthorized use of her identity could mislead people into believing that she supports or endorses products and services.

“Personality Rights of individuals, simply put, entail the right to control and protect the exploitation of one's image, name, likeness, or other attributes of the individual's personality, in addition to the commercial gains that can be derived from the same. Personality Rights can be located in the individual's autonomy to permit or deny the exploitation of the likeness or other attributes of their personality,” the court stressed.

Also Read: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Takes Legal Action Over Fake Websites, Merchandise, And AI-Generated Obscene Images

Delhi HC Passes Interim Injunction in Favour of Aishwarya

An ex parte ad interim injunction was passed in her favour, barring defendants — including unknown parties — from using her name “Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,” acronym “ARB,” image, likeness, and other attributes for commercial or personal gain. The order applies to all technologies, including AI, deepfakes, face morphing, and machine learning, across any medium.

The court further highlighted that the actress is one of the most celebrated figures and has served as a brand ambassador for several companies.

“She has garnered significant goodwill and reputation such that the members of the public repose their trust in the brands endorsed by her,” Justice Karia noted.

The court has reportedly ordered Google LLC to take down the URLs mentioned in the suit within 72 hours and to provide subscriber information of operators in a sealed format. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was directed to block the URLs within seven days.

Rai approached the High Court seeking protection from online platforms that were allegedly circulating AI-generated pornographic content and misusing her identity. Justice Karia orally indicated that an interim order would be issued to caution the defendants.

The judgment strengthens protections for celebrities against the unauthorized use of their identity — whether in advertisements, merchandise, or digital media — and reaffirms that personality rights are intrinsically tied to an individual’s fundamental right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The defendants named in the suit include websites like aishwaryaworld.com, apkpure.com, bollywoodteeshop.com, kashcollectiveco.com, e-commerce platform Etsy, chatbot site jainatorai.com, various YouTube channels, Google LLC, the IT Ministry, and the Department of Telecommunications.