A star asks for a legal shield
Kriti Sanon has moved the Delhi High Court seeking protection of her personality rights, adding her name to a growing list of Hindi and regional cinema figures who have obtained similar orders. The plea was mentioned on Friday before Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, who listed the matter for October 29.
Appearing for Sanon, Advocate Pravin Anand told the court that personality rights extend to “a person’s voice, face, image or a photo or video of someone’s face, including name of the individual”. He added that the claim also covers commercial use of a face for monetary gain “without consent or authorisation”.
The court wants a foundation first
Justice Kaurav did not pass an interim direction at the first listing. Instead, he asked for a compilation of relevant judgments and research material on personality rights, saying a comprehensive order would follow after the court reviews the material. Anand said the compilation would be filed the same day and that no jurisdictional issue arose.
That pause matters. The court is effectively asking for a doctrinal base before deciding how far a personality-rights order should reach, at a time when generative AI can clone a face or a voice cheaply.
Hindi cinema’s new legal habit
The Delhi High Court has already granted personality-rights protection to a wide set of public figures, including:
- Actors such as Kangana Ranaut, Tabu, Kajol, R Madhavan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan
- Regional stars such as Allu Arjun, Mohanlal, Nagarjuna, NTR Jr and Vijay Deverakonda
- Public figures including former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, entrepreneur Aman Gupta, podcaster Raj Shamani and journalist Sudhir Chaudhary
Salman Khan, according to the source, has a similar suit pending. For public personalities, a Delhi High Court order is becoming a standard pre-emptive measure against unauthorised merchandise, misleading endorsements and AI-generated lookalike content. Such orders often proceed against unidentified infringers through John Doe directions, letting platforms be told to remove offending material once notified.
What to watch next
The October 29 hearing will show whether Sanon gets an interim order on the same lines, and how the court frames the balance between protection and public uses such as parody, news and commentary. For the Hindi film business, that framing matters almost as much as the order itself. Unlike copyright, personality rights in India are still being developed case by case, which is precisely why the judge has called for research before ruling.
Source: Live Law
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