Delhi High Court Hears Salman Khan's Plea To Protect His Personality Rights

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Delhi High Court on Thursday began hearing Bollywood actor Salman Khan 's lawsuit seeking protection of his personality rights. The matter was taken up by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, with Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi appearing for Salman Khan and submitting a compilation identifying the defendants.

Hearing of Salman Khan's personality rights case begins

Justice Arora referred to her earlier orders in the Ajay Devgn and NT Rama Rao matters, cautioning that plaintiffs must first approach social media intermediaries before seeking court intervention, According to Live Law report.

Justice Arora indicated that the same approach would apply here: Salman Khan would be directed to notify the platforms, and if objections persisted after one week, the court would consider issuing a composite order.

Advocate Sethi agreed to the direction but added that relief was still required against non-intermediary defendants-such as e-marketplaces and entities allegedly selling merchandise or exploiting Khan's image without permission.

The court sought further details on these parties before proceeding.

The court told defendants 2, 3, 4, and 6 to process the case filings and act on them within three days, notifying the plaintiff if they disagree with any specific link (claim) mentioned in the case.

During the hearing, Khan's counsel also pointed out that an account using the handle“being in touch” was directly infringing on the registered trademark of the same name. In response, the court said that the defendant must consider the intellectual property rights detailed in the plaint before initiating any action.

The judge further added that a stay order would be issued against the other entities involved, but only those which are not social media platforms.

Salman Khan seeks protection against identity misuse

Salman Khan's move comes days after several celebrities approached the judiciary to seek protection against the misuse of their identities, especially amid the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) usage.

Previously, several cases saw the misuse of celebrity and renowned personality identities on social media and other digital spaces.

Khan approached the court, seeking directions restraining several named and unnamed (John Doe) defendants from misusing his name, image, voice, likeness, dialogues, mannerisms and other attributes, as a part of his personality.

According to news agency ANI, Salman Khan, in his plea, mentioned that numerous platforms and entities have been using his identity without permission, possibly misleading people and also hurting his brand value, causing irreparable harm to his commercial and personal rights.

Celebs who moved court previously

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has become a key court for cases about personality rights. It has already given strong protection to celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Anil Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan and creator Raj Shamani, recognising that only they can decide how their name, image or identity is used commercially.

The Court is also dealing with newer problems such as AI-generated videos, deepfakes and other edited content that can quickly distort someone's image or reputation online. Judges have warned that these impersonations can seriously harm a person's privacy and dignity.

At the same time, the Court has made it clear that genuine artistic work, satire, news reporting and commentary must continue to be protected, as long as they stay within constitutional limits.

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