The Delhi High Court has granted interim relief to actor Varun Dhawan in a case concerning the misuse of his identity online, directing the removal of AI-generated deepfakes, unauthorised merchandise listings, and other content allegedly exploiting his name and likeness without consent.
Delhi HC protects Varun Dhawan’s personality rights, directs takedown of AI-generated content
In an order passed on May 29, Justice Jyoti Singh observed that Dhawan had established a prima facie case for protection and was entitled to immediate relief pending further proceedings in the matter. The actor had approached the court seeking safeguards against the circulation of manipulated content, fake endorsements, and commercial misuse of his persona across digital platforms.
The court noted that some of the material in question included AI-generated images and videos portraying Dhawan in inappropriate situations, including content of a pornographic nature. Taking a serious view of the issue, the court observed that such material could cause significant harm to the actor’s reputation and mislead members of the public.
“Plaintiff is entitled to protection against dissemination of pornographic content as well as AI-generated images portraying him in an inappropriate scenario. Such a distasteful content is harming and damaging the reputation of the Plaintiff and may mislead the public into believing what is depicted may be true. Plaintiff’s right to restrain third parties from infringing and passing off also needs to be preserved,” the court stated.
As part of its directions, the High Court restrained various websites, e-commerce platforms and social media intermediaries from violating Dhawan’s publicity and personality rights. The order prohibits the use of the actor’s name, image, voice, likeness, signature or any other identifiable attribute for commercial or personal gain without auth
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