Delhi HC flags AI risks while protecting actor Nagarjuna's personality rights

New Delhi [India], September 30 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has observed that once objectionable or misleading material is uploaded on the internet, it can be picked up by generative artificial intelligence (AI) models, regardless of its authenticity, posing long-term risks to the reputation of public figures.
The remarks came from Justice Tejas Karia while hearing Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna's plea seeking protection of his personality rights against misuse of his identity in the digital space.
The court has granted ad-interim protection to Nagarjuna, restraining several websites and online platforms from misusing his name, image, and likeness for pornographic content, unauthorised merchandising, and AI-generated material.
Nagarjuna, who has acted in more than 95 films and won two national awards, argued that his name, image, and likeness were being misappropriated through pornographic content, unauthorised merchandising, and AI-generated material.
His counsel, Advocate Pravin Anand, highlighted the actor's formidable standing in Indian cinema and his wide online following of over six million on X and more than eight million on Facebook.
The actor was represented by Pravin Anand, Advocate, with Vaibhav Gaggar, Senior Advocate, Vaishali R Mittal, Vibhav Mithal, Shivang Sharma, Somdev Tiwari, Abhishek Nair, and Vansh Shrivastav, Advocates.
The petition pointed to several YouTube shorts and promotional videos that used hashtags linked to Nagarjuna, warning that such content could also be fed into AI training models, multiplying the misuse.
Justice Karia, while granting interim relief, restrained multiple websites from exploiting Nagarjuna's persona without authorisation.
The Court directed that URLs flagged in the petition be taken down within 72 hours and ordered online sellers of unauthorised merchandise to provide subscriber details of those involved in commercial exploitation.
The Court noted that the misuse of celebrity attributes such as name, image, voice, or likeness without consent not only harms their economic interests but also undermines their dignity and goodwill. "Depicting the plaintiff in misleading, derogatory and inappropriate settings will inevitably dilute the goodwill and reputation associated with him," the order stated.
The case adds to a growing line of judicial interventions aimed at safeguarding celebrity rights in the digital ecosystem. Recently, the High Court passed similar orders in favour of Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, restraining online misuse of their names, images, voices, and other attributes. The matter will next be heard on January 23, 2026. (ANI)